Third Arrest Made in UNC Football Probe
Posted on Oct. 15, 2013Authorities over the weekend arrested a Georgia real estate agent accused of trying to coax a UNC football player to sign a sports contract, widening the number of people implicated in the long-running investigation.
Authorities arrested Patrick Mitchell Jones, of Cartersville, Ga., on one count of athlete-agent inducement, bringing to three the total number of people facing criminal charges in connection to a probe by the N.C. Secretary of State’s office.
The News & Observer reported that Jones is accused of trying to induce former UNC player Robert Quinn ’12, a defensive end now with the St. Louis Rams, to sign with Georgia sports agent Terry Shawn Watson.
The Orange County Jail in Hillsborough confirmed that Jones was booked and released Saturday after posting bail.
Jones’ arrest is the latest development in a case that cast a negative spotlight on agent dealings with college athletes. It was not immediately clear whether Jones had an attorney.
Indictments charging Watson with 13 counts of athlete-agent inducement and one count of obstruction of justice — the most charges leveled against any individual in this case thus far — were unsealed last week.
Prosecutors allege that Watson provided Quinn and two other UNC players —Marvin Austin ’12 and Gregory Little ’12 — with cash, airline tickets and hotels rooms, illegal benefits that totaled more than $20,000. All three players were dismissed from the Carolina football program in 2010 for illegal dealings with sports agents.
Former tutor Jennifer Wiley Thompson ’09 has been charged with four counts of athlete-agent inducement. She is accused of giving Little two round-trip plane tickets to Florida, in part to enter a sports contract, and acting as a go-between for cash payments from Watson to Little.
Last week, Orange County District Attorney James Woodall ‘82 said he expected more indictments to be served in coming days, though he declined to say whether they contained the names of more sports agents.
Woodall said the investigation into the UNC case has largely concluded, though he deferred questions about whether investigators would widen their inquiry to agent dealings at other universities, saying, “That’s a question only the Secretary of State’s office can answer.”
A spokesman for the Secretary of State said the office was not commenting on the case.
More online…
- Georgia Sports Agent Charged In Football Probe
October 2013 news report - Former Tutor Indicted, Charged With Violating Sports Agent Law
October 2013 news report - Little to Investigators: Money Exceeded $20,000
September 2013 news report - Rawlings Panel Makes 28 Recommendations on Athletics’ Role in Campus Life
September 2013 news report - New Group Will Examine Academic Lives of Athletes
August 2013 news report - Rawlings’ Panel on Role of Athletics Set for Murray Hall
April 2013 news report - UNC Plans Wide-Ranging Review of Academics-Athletics Relationship
August 2012 news report - Faculty Committee: Should UNC Athletes Be Academically Separate?
July 2012 news report - The UNC’s Faculty Executive Committee report
- Carolina Gets Postseason Ban, Loss of 15 Football Scholarships
March 2012 news report - UNC Dismisses Davis As Head Football Coach
July 2011 news report - NCAA Gives Formal Notice of Football Investigation
June 2011 news report - UNC Awaits NCAA Ruling In 7th Month of Football Probe
February 2011 news report - A Flag Is Down: A football season that started with high expectations is being played beneath the shadow of an investigation into improper outside contacts and academic misconduct.
From the November/December 2010 issue of the Carolina Alumni Review, available online to Carolina Alumni members. - Tutor’s Help ‘Impermissible’ in Gifts as Well as Academics
November 2010 news story - Five Dismissed, 3 Suspended; Probe of Football Continues
October 2010 news report
