Former Clemson Basketball Player Arrested in FBI Investigation

Former Clemson guard Merl Code was arrested on charges of fraud and corruption in college basketball. Code played at Clemson University from 1993 to 1997 under then Coach Rick Barnes. Code helped lead Clemson's Sweet 16 tournament under Barnes his senior season. 

Code is accused of working alongside Jim Gatto, the head of sports marketing at Adidas, to pay recruits to sign with schools sponsored by Adidas. Following college, the goal was to have these star players sign professional contracts with Adidas.

According to the reports, bribes were paid to assistant and associate basketball coaches to influence student athletes, which allowed agents to get a portion of the millions that theses athletes would eventually make.

At a news conference today, U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim stated, "Coaches at some of the nation's top programs taking cash bribes, managers and advisers circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes, and employees of a global sportswear company funneling cash to families of high school recruits."

Code and Gatto were arrested Tuesday along with nine others, including four assistant basketball coaches, Lamont Evans, an associate coach of Oklahoma State University (former South Carolina assistant), Chuck Person, an associate coach of Auburn University, Emanuel "Book" Richardson, an assistant coach at he University of Arizona, and Tony Bland, an associate coach of the University of Southern California.

Note; Outside of being a former player, Code is not affiliated with Clemson University at this time as we are aware.