Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person has been suspended without pay by the university following his arrest in an FBI probe into college basketball recruiting.
Person, along with three other NCAA assistant coaches, were arrested in connection with their involvement in money being exchanged to recruits and their families.
Auburn president Steven Leath announced the suspension via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AuburnPrez/status/912728025048940545
Leath followed that up with other comments on Auburn’s assistance in helping the FBI with this case.
https://twitter.com/AuburnPrez/status/912728155571580929
https://twitter.com/AuburnPrez/status/912728383049658368
Person has served as an assistant coach for the Tigers since 2014. He played for the school from 1982-1986.
Lovell’s Analysis
Person being suspended comes as no surprise given the magnitude of this investigation.
His role in this ordeal will undoubtedly leave an impact far beyond his actual coaching career, with plenty of unknowns still out there regarding how this will affect the Auburn program.
Another important facet worth remembering: The FBI specifically states that its investigation was ongoing.
That means that there’s still more information to come. We know parts of the story, but we don’t know the entire story at this point.
Once that starts to become more clear – which, unfortunately, will likely involve more ugly details of life on the recruiting trail – we will begin to be able to piece together just how large an impact this will have on college basketball.