ATHENS -- Georgia athletic department officials say they had no previous knowledge that two of their athletes might have received improper benefits, as alleged by a newspaper report on Sunday.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, quoting police documents it obtained, reported that UGA sophomore linebacker Jarvis Jones and basketball signee Kentavious Caldwell-Pope allegedly received financial assistance from Columbus parks and recreation department administrators through a misuse of state funds.
The information came from a police investigation into the activities of parks director Tony Adams and associate Herman Porter. The two men are involved with the Georgia Blazers, a local AAU basketball team that once had Jones and Caldwell-Pope as players.
“Really I was just made aware of that yesterday,” Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox said during an SEC teleconference call on Monday. “Obviously, we’ll cooperate with the process. I really can’t speculate on what penalty there will be if there is one.”
Fox recruited Caldwell-Pope, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, out of Greenville High School in southwest Georgia. Caldwell-Pope signed with the Bulldogs last November.
Also on Monday, UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity issued a statement that said the school had contacted the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA regarding the accusations. "UGA and the student-athletes will work cooperatively with both entities as the process continues," McGarity said in the release.
McGarity also said UGA would offer no other comment on the situation "until the matter is resolved."
Police have accused Adams of using an unauthorized bank account to pay airfare for Jones to and from Los Angeles while the linebacker played football for USC. Adams allegedly used a credit card to pay for four flights totaling $828 from June to October 2009, according to police documents.
Police allege that Porter paid a $280 Verizon phone bill for Rhonda Caldwell, Caldwell-Pope's mother, in July 2009 with some of the money coming from a team account.
NCAA bylaws regarding amateurism state that a student-athlete will be deemed ineligible if he or she accepts transportation or other benefits from a person marketing the athlete.
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