MSU coach Tom Izzo believes his program committed no wrongdoing.
Hours after a report from Yahoo Sports that alleges Cynthia Bridges, mother of MSU standout Miles Bridges, accepted a money advance and a meal from Christian Dawkins, an associate of former NBA agent Andy Miller and his company ASM Sports, Izzo and interim athletic director Bill Beekman released statements regarding the report.
“We are aware of the report in Yahoo! Sports," Izzo said in the statement. "While we will cooperate with any and all investigations, we have no reason to believe that I, any member of our staff or student-athlete did anything in violation of NCAA rules.”
Beekman, who was appointed by MSU Interim President John Engler on Feb. 5, seconded Izzo.
“MSU is committed to a culture of NCAA compliance," Beekman said in the release. "We have proactively contacted the NCAA and Big Ten Conference. As Coach Izzo has stated, there is no evidence that he or anyone in his program, including student-athletes, did anything impermissible.”
While the Yahoo report states players from Division I programs such as Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and others from across the nation received thousands of dollars, Cynthia Bridges received hundreds of dollars in advances, according to Dawkins' expense reports.
The Yahoo report obtained expense reports that claimed on May 3, 2016, Dawkins paid for:
According to Yahoo, Dawkins also had dinners listed with Izzo, who has been under scrutiny after a string of ESPN reports released in recent weeks alleging a culture of sexual misconduct and violence against women.
Yahoo reported it did not view all of the documents the federal government possesses. The document with ties to Miles Bridges was not included in the photos of spreadsheets shown in the report.
The State News contacted Cynthia Bridges by phone Friday morning and a message was left asking for comment. She had not returned the call by the time this story was published.
It is still unclear if Miles Bridges ever had knowledge of the meetings between his mother and Dawkins.
Dawkins is one of 10 men the FBI charged in an investigation showing widespread corruption, bribery and fraud throughout college basketball during September 2017. He is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money-laundering conspiracy.
The No. 2 Spartans will play Wisconsin on the road at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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