Danielle Solzman
Christian Dawkins reveals everything about the biggest scandal to ever hit college basketball in HBO’s newest documentary, The Scheme.
A few years ago, the average college basketball fan probably didn’t even know who Dawkins even was. Now? Everybody does. The scandal led to Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino being forced out from the University of Louisville. Louisville fans probably didn’t want to be in the news again. Not like this anyway. After all, they were already dealing with recovering from a scandal that saw the 2013 NCAA banner get vacated.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two years since the FBI made their initial arrests. The NCAA subsequently got involved with a case of their own. Some college coaches–like the aforementioned Pitino–ended up losing jobs. Others did not. None of them were on the receiving end–one man was and that was Christian Dawkins. Could more college basketball coaches end up losing their jobs following tonight? It’s quite possible! I mean, Dawkins tells everything!
We get the inside scoop on how Dawkins came to be in this situation. This also includes his life story–growing up as a kid in Michigan. Believe me when I say that director Pat Kondelis makes sure no stone goes unturned. Ultimately, Dawkins would only get sentenced to 18 months in prison. And yet, here he is explaining the facts and context behind the FBI’s two-year investigation.
A number of sports personalities and such were invited to interview camera. Not surprisingly all of them declined to talk. One of them includes Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller. I’m not a lawyer so I can’t say for certain if the Arizona Wildcats have anything to worry about. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the NCAA decides to do something when college campuses reopen. Honestly, we don’t know what will happen. What we do know is that this is the first time in history that participating in an NCAA violation also doubled as a federal crime.
The Scheme is the documentary that the important people college basketball probably don’t want you to see.
DIRECTOR: Pat Kondelis
FEATURING: Christian Dawkins, Steve Haney, Dan Wetzel, Rebecca Davis O’Brien
