STILLWATER, Okla. —

An NCAA infractions committee on Friday announced penalties against Oklahoma State men’s basketball team stemming from the corruption case involving the team’s former assistant basketball coach, Lamont Evans.

The committee ruled that Evans violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he accepted between $18,150 and $22,000 in bribes from two financial advisors to influence student-athletes, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.

Evans is one of four coaches charged across the country in 2017, accused of accepting bribes from consultants and agents in exchange for access to the best players. Ten people have been charged across the country.

KOCO 5 reported in 2019 that a lawyer said Evans would plead guilty to a conspiracy bribery charge in New York Federal court.

Click here to read the full news release from NCAA regarding the case.

The committee also announced a list of penalties against the university’s men’s basketball program, including a one-year postseason ban for the team next season. Here’s a full list of penalties:

• Three years of probation.
• A 2020-21 postseason ban for the men’s basketball team.
• A $10,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).
• A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by a total of three during the 2020-21 through 2022-23 academic years.
• A reduction of men’s basketball official visits to 25 during the 2018-19/2019-20 rolling two-year period and to 18 during the 2019-20/2020-21 rolling two-year period (self-imposed by the university).
• A prohibition of men’s basketball unofficial visits for two weeks during the fall of 2020 and two weeks during the fall of 2021 (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit unofficial visits for three additional weeks during the fall of 2020, 2021 and/or 2022.
• A prohibition of men’s basketball telephone recruiting for a one-week period during the 2020-21 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit telephone recruiting for six additional weeks during the probation period.
• A reduction in the number of men’s basketball recruiting person days by 12 during the 2019-20 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must reduce the number of recruiting person days by five during the 2020-21 academic year.
• A 10-year show-cause order for the former associate head coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
• A prohibition of the men’s basketball staff from participating in off-campus evaluations for three consecutive days during the summer evaluation periods in 2020 (self-imposed by the university).

The Oklahoma State University Department of Athletics has since released a statement, saying it will file an immediate appeal of the NCAA penalties assessed to the men’s basketball program on Friday.

The deadline for filing the appeal is June 20. It will be heard by the Infractions Appeal Committee, the final step in the NCAA infractions process, according to OSU:

“The University is stunned by the severity of the penalties and strongly disagrees with them. The penalties do not align with the facts and are unfair and unjust.

“The NCAA agreed with OSU that Lamont Evans acted alone and for his own personal gain. Evans was terminated by OSU on Sept. 28, 2017, within 72 hours of learning of allegations against him.

“The NCAA also agreed that OSU did not benefit in recruiting, commit a recruiting violation, did not play an ineligible player, and did not display a lack of institutional control. As the report documents, OSU cooperated throughout the process, which lasted two years.

“The NCAA appears to have made an arbitrary decision in the sanctions applied to the institution for the egregious actions committed by a former coach that did not result in any benefit for the University.”

A Tulane University basketball player who was sidelined before the season has been arrested and barred from team activities after a woman accused him of raping her. 

Bul Ajang, a 6-foot-10 native of South Sudan who came to Tulane on a basketball scholarship but played sparingly because of an injury, was booked Monday with third-degree rape after he was accused of forcing himself on a woman after a night on the town. He is out of jail on a $10,000 bond.

The alleged victim told investigators that she, Ajang and others went to a bar on Sunday to drink and dance, according to a police account of the case filed in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. She said the next thing she remembered was waking up to find Ajang forcing her into sex in a strange bedroom.

The woman said she rejected Ajang and told him she wanted to go home, police said. She said the 22-year-old player then “hit her to the right part of her forehead and continued having sex with her.” 

Eventually, Ajang called a ride-share service, which brought the pair to the woman’s home in the Florida neighborhood, police said. 

The woman said she was dropped off, ran into her home and told her live-in boyfriend that Ajang had assaulted her. She called 911 to report that she had been raped, then went to University Medical Center and underwent a sexual assault examination, police said.

Without elaborating, police said they didn’t see any visible facial injuries on the woman.

Police said they interviewed Ajang at Tulane Medical Center, where he was receiving treatment for injuries that he claimed he suffered after being attacked by the woman’s boyfriend when he dropped her off.

In his interview, Ajang offered a different version of events.

He said he and his roommate had gone to visit one of the woman’s roommates, according to police. From there, Ajang said his accuser accompanied him and his roommate to a party before Ajang and the woman went alone to a bar to continue drinking, which they had been doing throughout the evening.

According to police, Ajang said the two were “(messed) up” when they went to his Uptown home and began having sex. He said they stopped when the woman asked to go home, and he called a ride-share service.

Ajang said her boyfriend attacked him as he was dropping her off.

An attorney for Ajang couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Tulane sports information director Tom Symonds said Ajang no longer has any association with the program. He remains a student at the university.

Third-degree rape in Louisiana can carry up to 25 years in prison but has no mandatory minimum punishment. Authorities can pursue that charge against anyone they suspect knowingly had sex with a person whose ability to consent was incapacitated by alcohol or some other substance.

Ajang played only occasionally for two years at Tulane under former coach Mike Dunleavy Sr.

After scoring a career-high five points in the Green Wave’s American Athletic Conference opener at Cincinnati last season, he played in just three more games before a chronic knee problem sidelined him last January for the rest of the season.

New coach Ron Hunter said in August that Ajang had undergone knee surgery and would get a medical hardship from the NCAA, ending his playing career.

“He’s going to stay on scholarship and be my personal assistant coach,” Hunter said at the time. “I just don’t think you should run kids off because of an illness or something like that. He’s going to be with us until he graduates here and, if he wants to stay with us, after he graduates.”

Ajang, a business major, signed with Tulane in November 2016 out of the Patrick School in New Jersey.

In April 2014, New Orleans police booked a Tulane football player on an allegation that he raped a woman on campus who was too intoxicated to consent to sex, but prosecutors later dropped the case. The woman from that case also filed a lawsuit against that player, a teammate and the university, which Tulane ultimately settled.

A student survey Tulane conducted a few years ago found that four in 10 undergraduate women said they had been subjected to unwanted sexual contact. That survey prompted the university to adopt a number of measures aimed at preventing sexual violence, including a faculty guide on how to talk with students about sexual violence and a standardized training guide educating students on healthy relationships.

This story has been updated since it was first published. 

SWAT team raids home of former Jaguars player Telvin Smith, 29, as he’s arrested for unlawful sexual activity with minors

• Telvin Smith was charged with unlawful sexual activity with minors Wednesday
• A SWAT team was pictured surrounding his Florida home at 2pm
• They cleared the home and carried out search as a crime scene investigation unit arrived
• He was booked into jail at 5.20pm and was held on $50,000 bail 
• According to a police record, the arrest pertains to an incident that took place between 10pm on August 31 and 12pm on September 1, 2019 at a residence 
• Jaguars told DailyMail.com they ‘are aware of the report involving former linebacker Telvin Smith’ and are ‘unable to comment further’
• Cops were seen at his home in November and towed his car away. It’s unclear if the incident is related

By Leah Simpson For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:34 EDT, 29 April 2020 | Updated: 19:46 EDT, 29 April 2020

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An Eastern Washington University football player has been removed from the team after being charged with multiple counts of theft.

James Durr, 18, was charged with theft, identity theft and making false statements after police say he stole a fellow college student’s wallet last month. Durr is a freshman from Vancouver, Washington, according to the EWU football roster.

Fellow football player Jordan White has also been interviewed by police in relation to the crimes, as the Easterner first reported.

A student reported her wallet had been stolen from her room in Snyamncut Hall on Feb. 25. When EWU police arrived, they found Durr and White talking to the victim, court records say.

The players told police they saw a woman enter the victim’s room and flee, both giving a detailed description of the suspect. The players said they went door to door looking for the suspect, court records say.

After reviewing surveillance footage of the area, police didn’t see a suspect matching the players’ description. Another student went to police the next day and said White and Durr committed the theft, court records say.

Durr admitted to police during an interview that he lied to police and stole the wallet, court records indicate.

Multiple witnesses told police Durr discussed planning the robbery with White.

The victim told police Durr and White did have permission to be in her room before her wallet was stolen.

Another football player told police Durr made an unauthorized Paypal transfer from his account on March 2.

Durr admitted to finding the teammate’s wallet in the locker room and taking pictures of his debit card to make unauthorized transfers, court records show.

Durr was arrested on March 4 but has since been released.

White was also interviewed by police but denied any involvement in the crimes, according to court documents.

White is a freshman defensive back from Lynwood, California, majoring in criminal justice, according to the team’s roster.

White has not been charged with a crime. Both players were removed from the EWU football team and will go through the student conduct process.

Two Ohio State defensive backs charged Tuesday with rape and kidnapping were dismissed from the football team by head coach Ryan Day on Wednesday.

Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint are in Franklin County jail facing charges of rape and kidnapping. They will be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday.

Both players were suspended from the football team Tuesday and dismissed Wednesday.

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“I have dismissed Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint from our football program,” Day said in a statement. “I am not making any statement on the criminal charges, but it is clear they did not live up to our standards and my expectations. The athletics department will make sure they both continue to have access to the health and well-being resources available to students and student-athletes. Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, I will not be commenting further.”

Columbus attorney Sam Shamansky, who has been retained by Wint, said in an email that his client is “100% wrongfully accused.”

“Mr. Wint has fully cooperated with every request that has been made of him by Columbus police, and upon learning he was charged, immediately turned himself in at the Franklin County jail,” Shamansky said. “He is willing to continue cooperating with police, including taking a polygraph.”

Attorney Karl Schneider, who is representing Amir, said in an emailed statement that, “These are serious and troubling charges for all concerned, but Amir maintains his innocence and will confront these proceedings and difficult times over the coming months and weeks.”

Amir voluntarily surrendered to authorities late Tuesday night. “There is much to be investigated, but I am confident that Amir will be exonerated,” Schneider said.

According to Columbus police, Riep was hanging out with the victim on Feb. 4 in an apartment that he and Wint share on the Northwest Side. Riep and the woman began to engage in consensual sex, but the woman stopped, moved away and told Riep she didn’t want to continue.

Wint then entered the room and asked if he could join. An affidavit filed by police accused Wint of grabbing the woman by the neck, forcing her on her hands and knees and raping her. Riep then held her in place by the hips and with his body, while Wint forced her to perform oral sex, police said. The woman pushed Wint away, but he forced her again to have oral sex, the affidavit states.

Riep told the woman that she needed to say it was consensual in a video recording.

Riep then recorded her asking if he wanted her face on the video, since she was crying. “And he told her ‘no, just say it was consensual’ on video recording while laughing at her,” the affidavit said.

After telling her she needed to take a shower, Riep then drove the woman home. The woman reported the incident to police less than three hours after it occurred, police said.

Danny Landberg, Wint’s coach at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, declined to comment when reached by The Dispatch.

“I’m not getting involved in this,” he said.

Riep attended Colerain High School in Cincinnati. Colerain coach Shawn Cutright also declined to comment when reached by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

From the time Ohio State football players arrive on campus, they are warned that mistreating women is a violation of the program’s core values.

It’s written in large letters on the wall of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: TREAT WOMEN WITH RESPECT. That was one of former head coach Urban Meyer’s primary tenets regarding off-the-field behavior, and it remains so under Day.

In June, Ohio State dismissed running back Brian Snead from the school following an investigation prompted by an anonymous tip that he had committed a sexual assault in a campus dormitory. Charges were never filed against Snead. The woman declined to press charges or talk to the police.

For Day, the Riep-Wint case represents the first high-profile off-field issue involving a Buckeye player since he was hired a year ago. Star defensive end Chase Young was suspended for two games in the fall, but that was for an NCAA issue — taking an improper loan — not a legal one.

Riep and Wint were junior backup defensive backs on Ohio State’s 2019 team. Riep had two interceptions last season. With Shaun Wade the only returning starter in the secondary, both Riep and Wint were expected to be in the mix for starting jobs in 2020.

According to the Buckeyes’ website, Riep is majoring in sport industry and has played in 26 games and recorded 13 tackles. He was a 4-star prospect coming out of high school.

Wint is majoring in human development and family science. He is in his fourth season with the program, though he redshirted the 2016 season and is a junior in eligibility, according to the website. Coming out of high school, he was a 4-star prospect and rated as the No. 1 athlete in New York state by ESPN and the No. 1 safety prospect by Scout.

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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — New Mexico forward Carlton Bragg Jr. has been dismissed from the Lobos basketball team following his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Coach Paul Weir released a statement late Sunday, hours after Bragg’s arrest, saying the embattled player needed to focus on his personal well-being.

“The game of life is much more important than basketball right now,” Weir said. “I still believe in him and hope this next step will allow him to develop into a strong, responsible young adult while also completing his degree here at UNM.”

The arrest came nine days after Bragg, 24, was reinstated to the team following a three-game suspension while university officials investigated sexual misconduct allegations against him by another student. Bragg has not been charged in connection with that incident, which occurred in August, although the Bernalillo County district attorney’s office sent the case to the district attorney’s office in Alamogordo because of a conflict of interest.

Bragg, who was averaging 12.6 points and 10.3 rebounds in 15 games in his second season at New Mexico (15-3), was released from custody later Sunday.

He was detained around 1:20 a.m. in Albuquerque at a sobriety checkpoint, according to a police report.

Officers saw that Bragg “had bloodshot watery eyes and an odor of alcohol emanating from his facial area,” the report said. “Carlton admitted drinking 2 glasses of wine between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.” The Lobos had beaten Air Force only hours earlier.

Bragg was put through field sobriety testing and “signs of impairment were present during his performance of the sobriety tests,” after which he was arrested and a small amount of marijuana was discovered on his body, the report said.

Bragg later refused to take a breath-alcohol test, police said.

It was not known if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

New Mexico is Bragg’s third school. He played at Kansas, where he was suspended after being arrested and charged with battery against a woman in 2016, although that charge was dropped and the woman who made the claims was later charged after prosecutors reviewed surveillance video.

He also attended Arizona State but was removed from the team in his first semester for violating an unspecified team rule.

Bragg had 11 points and seven rebounds Saturday night in the Lobos’ 84-78 victory.

NATCHITOCHES, La.  — Long before he became the beloved head football coach at undefeated LSU, this is where Ed Orgeron made some of the dumbest mistakes of his life and nearly threw away his future, according to local legend.

It was late 1982. Orgeron had just finished his junior season as a football player at the local university, Northwestern State. But he was on thin ice. He already had quit LSU as a freshman because he was homesick and didn’t like it there. Then after he joined NSU about 180 miles up the road, he had earned a reputation as a hell-raising, curfew-busting barroom brawler.

A new coach had just been hired, Sam Goodwin, who considered kicking him off the team, along with his roommate, after they were accused of trashing a dorm room.

The school’s housing director “took me into this one room, and every piece of furniture in there was broke,” Goodwin recalled this week as Orgeron prepared LSU for the national championship game against Clemson Monday in New Orleans.

“Just a total disaster,” he said. “He told me two of my players did all that, and it wasn’t the first time they had done it. One of them was Bébé Orgeron, and the other Bryan Arceneaux, both of them from South Lafourche.”