It was only really a matter of time, honestly. Nevin Shapiro is the infamous convict who ran a Ponzi scheme and recently provided enough detailed evidence of widespread corruption and NCAA violation at the University of Miami to tarnish their reputation for a decade. The U is a nuclear wasteland right now as the NCAA tries to figure out what to do about the rampant violations that have gone on throughout the years, whether they’re bad enough to supersede their standard statute of limitations, and exactly how much money went to hookers. That’s right, hookers.
As all this happened in Miami, and the circles of athletics tend to loop out into Venn diagrams of absurdity with the higher levels, especially as many U athletes who knew and trusted Nevin became professional athletes who knew and trusted Shapiro, that eventually there would be some brief, grazing impact with the Heat. It’s simply too unlikely that no member of the Heat and Shapiro ever crossed paths. Turns out, the Miami Herald reports that it wasn’t just a path crossing. They report that Shapiro and two very prominent members of NBA society in the mid-00’s knew Shapiro according to the incarcerated former booster, as told by Lucky Strikes bowling alley co-owner Brian D. Elias:Elias said while that may have happened under his nose, he doesn’t remember seeing Shapiro at Lucky Strike often with UM players. But he does remember Shapiro ringing up similar tabs while he partied with his girlfriend and others.
“He would go there virtually every weekend to watch college and pro football,” Elias said. “It got to a point where we would speak every time I saw him there. We became friends. He may not have been tall in stature. But he had a huge personality. Everybody liked him. People gravitated to him, I’m not talking about football players, I’m talking about people in general. He liked to brag about not just UM [players], but anybody, playing around with Dwyane Wade, Shaq, the Chief of Police. He never ever, ever, mentioned to me he had a tournament bowling for dollars at Lucky Strike in all the times I knew him.
via Eye on the U | Lucky Strike co-owner said UM President Donna Shalala ‘shouldn’t be demonized’ in infamous photo.
So the owner of a bowling alley who used to talk with Shapiro years ago says that Shapiro said he hung out with Shaq and Wade.
Well, I’m convinced 100% that this is completely accurate!
You’re going to find a lot of these kinds of ancillary connections to Shapiro all over Miami. He operated in the biggest clubs, the most known spots, knew the most powerful people. You don’t rip off millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme hanging out with the staff at T.G.I.Friday’s. So it’s entirely possible he was introduced to Shaq and Wade at some point. It’s possible they may have run in similar circles at one point. It’s conceivable they were friends.
HEADLINES READ: NEVIN SHAPIRO AND DWYANE WADE BFF
This is a scandal that rocked Miami’s athletic community. No one’s going to be left untouched by the end of it. Let’s just hope the good name of Antoine Walker isn’t dragged into this.
(HT: EOB)
