American Sports Story

💡 Did You Know?

"The U" refers to the University of Miami Hurricanes or "The 'Canes" football team. The scandals were:

• Brian Pata was found dead as a result of a homicide in November 2006. In 2021, a fellow teammate Rashaun Jones was arrested for said murder.
• Various teammates were arrested for guns, drugs, and other violations.
• In 2015, Nevin Shapiro, a former Miami businessman and Booster who is currently doing a 20-year stint in federal prison for fraud, has alleged that he showered dozens of Miami players with improper gifts, from prostitutes to jewelry, over a period of eight years. Other benefits included: cash, jewelry, prostitutes, parties in his mansions and on his yacht, elaborate meals and nights out at expensive nightclubs and strip bars, bonuses for athlete's play on the field, special bonuses for injuring players on another team, and, in one instance, an abortion for a stripper a player had impregnated.
• Due to the number of players and other participants involved and the repeated and frequent nature of said offenses, there was talk of the regulating body, The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association), imposing the "Death Penalty", which would shut down Miami's football program entirely for at least one year, something it has only done once before, with Southern Methodist University in 1987.