The FBI reportedly went to Baton Rouge to investigate LSU basketball coach Will Wade.
Wade is currently suspended after he was allegedly caught on a wiretap offering payments to a star recruit. He didn’t coach in the NCAA tournament, and it’s unclear if he’ll ever coach at LSU again. Now, it sounds like he might have bigger problems to worry about than a return to the bench. (RELATED: Dick Vitale Gets Into Heated Exchange Over LSU Basketball Coach Will Wade)
Yahoo Sports reported the following Friday night:
After LSU coach Will Wade’s indefinite suspension from the school on March 8, FBI agents were in Baton Rouge investigating his recruiting tactics, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports. That included a Louisiana-based FBI agent active in Baton Rouge the following week, conducting in-person work regarding Wade.
The FBI made clear its interest was speaking specifically about Wade, according to a source. The FBI’s interest in Wade’s recruiting tactics could potentially signal an expansion in the federal basketball corruption case. An FBI agent who was in Baton Rouge declined comment when reached by Yahoo Sports.
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“If the FBI has been in town, we are not aware of it,” LSU senior associate athletic director Robert Munson said in a statement. “The University has not been contacted.”
This is just such a wild situation. As I’ve always said, I will never understand why the FBI feels the need to get involved with payments in college sports.
It’s not a secret that elite athletes take money under the table in college. It’s been happening forever, and it’s not going to end anytime soon. Is it okay? That depends on who you ask, but I have never understood spending resources on investigating whether or not money has been paid under the table to young men to play a sport. It just doesn’t make sense. (RELATED: The March Madness Bracket Has Been Released)
Secondly, if the FBI was in Baton Rouge investigating Wade, which the school claims it knows nothing about, then his days at LSU are probably nearing a rapid end.
I highly doubt the school is going to want to continue to employ a coach who might be under federal investigation.
That’s not a cloud anybody wants hanging over the program.
It should be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I wouldn’t say it’s looking great for Wade right now. It’s a damn shame too because he’s a hell of a coach.
As one LSU fan told me before their Sweet 16 game, the fanbase isn’t confident he’ll ever coach for the Tigers again, and they’re not happy about it.