Former University of Southern California assistant men's basketball coach Tony Bland pleaded guilty Wednesday in Manhattan federal court to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Among four assistant coaches charged in the September 2017 crackdown on college basketball recruiting corruption, Bland is the first to have accepted a plea deal. He was scheduled to go to trial in April.
As reported by the Associated Press, prosecutors say the coaches teamed up with a top Adidas executive and others to trade hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes' choice of schools, shoe sponsors, agents and even tailors.
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