Why was Calvin Booker banned by Tech?
Former Georgia Tech quarterback Calvin Booker had a somewhat murky role in the NCAA’s investigation into Georgia Tech’s football program.
Booker, a drop-back quarterback whose skills didn’t really fit into Paul Johnson’s option scheme, was at the apartment of Demaryius Thomas’ cousin, Earl, when Thomas and Morgan Burnett arrived that October, 2009 night. Booker was friends with Earl’s roommate, Herbert Hilliard.
In Georgia Tech’s response to the NCAA on March 17, this description was included as one of the alleged violations:
In October 2008, Herbert “Hype” Hilliard, a friend of Calvin Booker, an employee of RFL Sports Inc. (RFL Sports), a sports agency based in Atlanta, provided then football student-athlete Demaryius Thomas several items of clothing valued at approximately $312. In addition, Hilliard provided then football student-athlete Morgan Burnett with similar items of clothing as Thomas at a similar value.
Thomas speculated that because he thought Booker was working for an agent, and Booker and Hilliard were friends, the clothes might have been an enticement for Thomas to sign with RFL Sports, whom Thomas thought Booker worked for. Thomas later signed with another agent.
During his interview, Booker said that Richard Kopelman, one of the owners RFL Sports, was his agent for a short time. Booker said he never worked for Kopelman as a runner. Through a lawyer, Kopelman corroborated Booker’s statement. Burnett was later cleared by the NCAA.
The murkiness occurs because during one of Thomas’ interviews, he said he remembered Booker telling him he wanted to one day be an agent. Booker is currently enrolled in law school in California. I reached Booker on the phone this morning. He said he was busy and would call back. Attempts to reach Thomas and Burnett today have been unsuccessful.
So why did athletics director Dan Radakovich subsequently bar Booker from Tech’s facilities?
Because of this passage in Tech’s response:
The University believes that the AGA staff must have had some information that suggested
Booker worked with RFL Sports, but this information has never been made available to the
University and is not in the custodial file. During a conversation with the University in
November 2009, however, Marcus Wilson of the AGA staff reported that Booker was a
runner for a sports agency, but Wilson did not identify the source of the information nor did
he supply any supporting information or evidence. Nonetheless, as a precautionary measure,
Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich banned Booker from utilizing the weight-training
facilities and from receiving complimentary admissions (See Exhibit 1-1). Those restrictions
remain in effect, although the University has yet to receive any information of Booker
working as either an agent or runner other than Thomas’ comments. At the conclusion of
this inquiry, the University will reevaluate its position with respect to its relationship with
Booker.
Here’s a copy of one of Thomas’ interviews. (MW = Marcus Wilson, with the NCAA Agents, Gambling, and Amateurism (AGA) staff; PP = Paul Parker, Tech’s former compliance officer. DT = Demaryius Thomas; Hype is Hilliard):
[Page 7]
MW: Do you, um, do you know Cal- do you know Booker?
DT: Yeah, I know Calvin. I, um, when he was playing here we use to be kinda, like.
MW: Right, right.
DT: Yeah, we was close.
MW: Have you, uh, do you know what he’s doing now?
DT: Uh, I guess, that’s what I heard. I really didn’t know he was doing it, but I heard it.
MW: Um, did you, what specifically did you hear?
DT: I heard he was working for somebody that’s an agent. I also heard he was working for
Mike Johnson’s agent.
MW: All right. Richard Kopelman, have you heard of that name?
DT: Yeah. I’ve heard of that name.
MW: Okay. Um, is he, is, is Booker, is he, is he around the football center a lot? I mean
does he come around a lot these days?
DT: He’s, he’s never there.
[Page 10]
MW: Why, um, why did Hype want to give this to ya’ll? Why did, I mean, why is he giving
ya’ll an early Christmas present?
DT: I don’t. I, I really don’t know.
MW: What’s, help me understand.
DT: Maybe, I don’t. I really don’t know.
MW: Who did –
DT: I, I don’t even know if Hype, like, actually knows the agent Richard. I don’t even
know if he know him, but, um. I know since Book and Hype was homeboys since
when they were, when they were, I mean, whenever. I would guess he get us some
stuff to maybe going away or looking towards Book and them if we wanting to sign
to an agent I guess.
MW: Help, help me understand that a little bit more.
DT: Okay.
MW: Why, why would Hype want you to go Book’s way for an agent? You think Hype’s
working for Booker or Hype’s working for, for the agent?
DT: I mean, I really don’t know, I don’t know what’s going on. I just know we went to his
house and, and we got it from Hype’s house.
[Pages 12 and 13]
MW: Was there any? When he, when he gave you these clothes, I mean, I know you said
he, was there any talk about Michael Johnson’s agent or Kopelman?
DT: No, they didn’t say nothing about no agent or nothing. They was just, like, we got a
gift for ya’ll. That’s why I was saying, like, I don’t know if Hype, I don’t know what
Hype do. But they didn’t say nothing about a agent or anything.
MW: What? I mean, why would, I mean, was there, like, a implicit understanding? What’d
you, what’d you think when somebody’s got all these clothes here and saying, happy
early Christmas?
DT: I don’t know, ’cause.
MW: I mean, what do you, like, are you not, like, well why are you doing this?
DT: I was like that but I, I wasn’t taking it from no agent so, that’s why I got it.
MW: All right. And did you, did you think that was okay?
DT: At first I didn’t, but I didn’t, I wasn’t even asking, thinking about it at the time. Um,
and then I thought about it later after I started talking, well meeting with my parents
and coach Johnson about the agents and everything. I knew when the agents to talk to
you or not and all that other type of stuff.
PP: Did you ever think about taking it back and giving it back to Hype?
DT: Yeah. ‘Cause I, I haven’t used it.
MW: Do you, um, was it, why was, why was Booker, why was Booker there at the, at the,
Earl’s house on this occasion?
DT: I, answer I don’t know. Uh, I know, like, we hang over there a lot. We’ve been, like,
that’s, like, a chill spot, like, just hang out ’cause they have parties a lot. Like, I went
over there, like, three or four times this year during the season they have a little
cookout and stuff.
As noted above, Burnett acknowledged being at Hilliard’s home on this occasion.
—
In addition to banning Booker, Tech also banned former Tech player Damarius Bilbo, who works for Thomas’ agent, Todd France, as the director of recruiting. Bilbo has not been accused by the NCAA or by Tech as violating any rules. Radakovich said the step was simply precautionary.
Bilbo didn’t know that Tech had banned him, something that he said offended him because he has registered with the state and with Tech’s compliance office. He said he would never do anything to jeopardize the players or their eligibility. The only mention of Bilbo in any document related to the investigation was the fact that Tech had banned him from using facilities or receiving complimentary tickets.
“They could have reached out to me,” he said. “I graduated; I’ve never been in any trouble there. I stayed there [during a coaching and position change] and made a commitment to Georgia Tech. If they want to disassociate themselves with me for nothing, that’s up to Georgia Tech. It’s unfortunate. I work with a different type of agency. Just because we are in a bad business doesn’t mean we are bad people. I can help these kids.”
– Doug Roberson, AJC
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59 comments Add your comment
Whatever
July 15th, 2011
12:20 pm
Marcus Wilson (the babbling, um,um,um,um idiot) is an example of the sad racket that the NCAA has turned into.
Chuck
July 15th, 2011
12:35 pm
It’s almost like DT was goaded into retelling the story until he used the right keywords MW was looking for. I see a dirty old man (what I see the NCAA as) tricking a kid and twisting around his words into incriminating himself.
juvenal
July 15th, 2011
12:50 pm
talk about closing a door after the horses are gone—if there was any reason to do so in the first place—-got my yellow coveralls ordered(dickies has them), will be easy to spot at games—-Doug where did corbin go to school?(also,DFB looks good in europa,bayern-muenchen gonna be tuff with Neuer;still girls & U17 a dissapointment)
Alabama Jack
July 15th, 2011
12:55 pm
I’m sure Wilson being a UNC Tarheel had nothing to do with this.
GT65
July 15th, 2011
12:58 pm
Still just BS.
Nate Stimson
July 15th, 2011
1:06 pm
Radakovich will have to resign. He either: 1) intentionally ignored the NCAA’s instructions regarding communicating with CPJ, as communicated to Radakovich by GT’s own Compliance Officer; or 2) is not disciplined, wise, or professional to recognize the seriousness of an NCAA investigation. Either way, he failed to do his job and she not keep it.
Bobby
July 15th, 2011
1:27 pm
I have no problems with the Athletic Director and CPJ keeping their jobs. This seems more like a petty investigation and vengeance on the part of UNC than an honest investigation.
KB
July 15th, 2011
1:36 pm
That was an interview? I’ve had more intelligent conversations at a beer festival. How can you possibly derive ANY conclusions from that incoherent rambling.
Maybe we should investigate the NCAA for not hiring competent personnel to do the investigating.
Big Ol Stinger
July 15th, 2011
1:36 pm
Can someone please tell me why the NCAA exists? What is their mission?
Is this what they sit around and worry about? Why should any school be a member of the organization? What good are they?
Big Bad Bee
July 15th, 2011
1:38 pm
Sean bedfors’s open letter to the NCAA is terrific, read it if you have not already…
GT BBall
July 15th, 2011
1:38 pm
The NCAA investigators comments sound alot like Caled King’s tweets. I really think this Marcus Wilson, with the NCAA Agents sounds like a real intelligent person. The more I read, the more I think the NCAA needs to be investigated by congress.
I actually thought that after the money laundering scandal at the Fiesta Bowl. the NCAA investigates that and the Fiesta bowl continues as if nothing is wrong. Millions of dollars per year illegally sent to political campaigns from the Fiesta Bowl coffers.
Invetigate the Investigators … that’s tthe ticket!
Big Bad Bee
July 15th, 2011
1:38 pm
Make that Bedford…typing too fast
JohnD
July 15th, 2011
1:40 pm
Egregious… I really wish some of the national wires would pick up this story in more detail and reveal that the NCAA spent 20 months investigating a possible violation – ultimately deciding there WAS NO ACTUAL violation. The infractions moron is fishing for anything and asking the same question, over and over and over – simply looking for an inconsistency. In a court of law this kind of “testimony” would be thrown out in about 3 seconds as inadmissible.
Nate – pound sand on the Radakovich or Johnson resigning. Neither has been involved in any type of infraction previously in their career. The idiots at the NCAA infraction committee who spent over $100K to ‘discover’ this drivel – they should realistically be out of a job for non-performance. Pitiful.
yellowcat
July 15th, 2011
1:40 pm
The NCAA should be ashamed of themselves. When are we ever going to come up with a system to help student-athletes to get due pay for their services. The SEC just signed a multi millon dollar TV deal but GT get puts on probation over 312 dollars. Also why punish the kids who are currently at the school. This is non sense. The people in the NCAA are so far out of the loop its a shame. Be proactive not reactive. This is BS. Put the NCAA on probation!!!!!
Sadbuttrue
July 15th, 2011
1:44 pm
Only Tech could go 1-2 while they are cheating…..
Hal
July 15th, 2011
1:46 pm
If the NCAA grades this on a curve Ohio State and UNC will get the death penalty.
Sadbuttrue
July 15th, 2011
1:48 pm
You’ll never see another large, revenue generating college (like SMU in the 80’s) get the death penalty. The NCAA lost too much money when they shutdown the SMU program years ago.
GIVE ME A BREAK
July 15th, 2011
1:53 pm
Judging by GT’s punishment, Ohio St’s coach should go to prison. I think Rad and Bud dropped the ball on this one. I hope every player will send the ncaa a letter like Bedford’s. Tech should appeal this. ” GO JACKETS ” NCAA s _ _ ks.
Bob
July 15th, 2011
1:59 pm
Wow… to listen to our student athletes speak… truly inspirational. And how was it they made it to college in the first place? Oh yeah… our K-12 leadership made sure they did. Darn but it’s just such a source of pride to be associated with this town. Back to their inspirational communication, let’s see if I can emulate these heroes: “What do you want to be when you grow up, Bobby?” “I, like, you know, like, wanna, like, you know, like, get into a really famous school like, you know, like, Georgia Technique or like Georgia Technologically or whatever they call this school I’ve been accepted into so’s that I can, like, you know, gets a diploma or sometin like you know, like being a football star like, you know.”
Dawg in Columbus
July 15th, 2011
2:03 pm
Considering Cam’s daddy admitted asking for $180k and nothing has happened to anyone involved. And crap like this, it’s time for the NCAA to disappear. They remind me of the irs, arrogance is more important than brains or character. AJ, gets 4 games for selling his jersey? Oh and he can’t get a job! So if you’re poor and your family needs you to work to help out you can’t play college sports?
Pablo
July 15th, 2011
2:05 pm
Is it possible Tech banned the wrong person – Damarious instead of Demaryius? Yes, I realize how stupid that sounds, but given that we’ve obstructed our way to repeat offender status, I wouldn’t put it past the brain trust at the Athletic Association. Dishonesty and incompetence is a poor combination.
Boris Badnoff
July 15th, 2011
2:05 pm
Interesting that none of the jocks speak English. Put subtitles in your next column. High school and pro football are honest. High school uses student athletes and pro football pays jocks over the counter. College football is a sham and has been ever since athletics scholarships were established. Get rid of athletic scholarships and play the games with real student athletes instead of jocks. The UGA Tech game with computer nerds vs tractor jockeys might actually be interesting. Remember what Heisman Trophy winner George Rodgers said: If South Carolina didn’t have a school of Motel Management I couldn’t have gone to college.
DC Dirty Bird
July 15th, 2011
2:05 pm
If the AD talked to PJ before the interviews, why did Bey Bey’s interview go so terribly? I guess when you run the triple option, you don’t really know your receivers……
Danny
July 15th, 2011
2:12 pm
Keep in mind that the NCAA has made it clear that they did not drop the hammer on Tech b/c of some clothes or improper basketball camp sessions. The NCAA is much more concerned with what they see as attempted obstruction of the investigation. That should not have happened, and D-Rad should leave if his actions were willful.
GTFan
July 15th, 2011
2:13 pm
Big Bad Bee,
Where can you find the letter?
snoopy
July 15th, 2011
2:14 pm
Dawg fan here & I think – no I KNOW, this is total BS!!! $312 in swag & all this?? Man, Scam & the AU program…. OSU cause of Tressel & Tatoo Prior might get, should get, half their schollies taken away for 5 years – if this is the way the NAZI’s errrrr NCAA prosecute their members…. Hell yes, Congress needs to investigate these scumbags!
For this incident only, I sympathize with you…
Other than that – to hell wit ya!!
kc
July 15th, 2011
2:15 pm
Why are you picking on their English? I have you to know that Marcus Wilson is a prized product of the Atlanta Public School system and scored exceptionally well on all of his standardized tests. He was, in fact, salutatorian of his graduating class. Willie B was valedictorian.
chc4
July 15th, 2011
2:20 pm
I thought GT athletes were smarter than most? Might want to consider promoting use of the english language.
CPJ's #1 Fan
July 15th, 2011
2:21 pm
Here is a peek into the NCAA board room as they were discussing the Tech situation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEdDMQZaCU
Gotcha
July 15th, 2011
2:22 pm
Tech cheats and they still can’t win.
Not a Hewitt Fan
July 15th, 2011
2:30 pm
Something aint right here. Basically, it seems if the NCAA is coming down on us b/c we were arrogant and uncooperative. Last time I checked, there is no law on the books for being an assh0le. Go Jackets!
gt4ever
July 15th, 2011
2:30 pm
A joke, pure and simple!
gt4ever
July 15th, 2011
2:30 pm
Kiss ASS gotcha!
Ummmmmm Uhhhh
July 15th, 2011
2:31 pm
So um….uhhh…. Anybody else find that hard to read?
Marcus Wilson is really an investigator asking questions like that??? LOL wow.
Jacket Man
July 15th, 2011
2:31 pm
Okay, so Bay Bay wasn’t sure what the question was or what their relationship was (which was non-existent) and THIS is what got the ball rolling? Then they jumped on it because DRad inadvertently made mention to CPJ who inadvertently made mention to the player, who obviously still didn’t understand anyway, and the Jackets got hit with this mess…Time to call in the cavalry.
Jeffro Bodeen
July 15th, 2011
2:32 pm
They should be banned for being unable to complete a sentence. That might be the worst deposition I’ve ever tried to read and follow.
Saban
July 15th, 2011
2:34 pm
They will never catch me alive.
Mel
July 15th, 2011
2:36 pm
This is total b.s.. Seems like the NCAA is just reaching.
Jacket Man
July 15th, 2011
2:37 pm
By the way, just because you are “told” something by someone in the NCAA doesn’t make it right. It must be in writing and it must be clear, concise, and unambiguous. There needs to be some serious discussions as to what the actual “bylaws” of the NCAA says to be sure they didn’t conflict with what was told to the AA, and also to make sure there weren’t any ambiguities. If I found even a hint of any, I’d be on them like white on rice.
Rad Must Go
July 15th, 2011
3:05 pm
time for rad to hit the road—he should have been on top of this but bungled the whole thing.
BT75
July 15th, 2011
3:13 pm
The NCAA has lost it!
Marcus Wilson comes across in this interview as borderline illiterate. If this was the kind of information the NCAA based it’s decisions on, they are the ones that should be held accountable. If it is not something you can prove in a court of law, then it is not evidence that should justify major penalties.
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot
July 15th, 2011
3:23 pm
Basically, the NCAA is like labor unions. Back one hundred years or so they were created out of the need to create safety and order in their respective interests. However, now they are no longer needed and stoop to stupidity, scare tactics and a child-like game of playground finger pointing to remain relevant. Both the NCAA and labor unions, while their original intent was pure and useful, their existence is no longer based on an actual need.
mother
July 15th, 2011
4:04 pm
Mr. Bedford – it wasn’t the $312, it was the way your school handled the $312 incident. Go with your fellow teammates and enjoy your memories of what could have been the real thing.
T3
July 15th, 2011
4:08 pm
I will contend that the GT case could be the NCAA’s last stand.
This is so contrived, so over-the-top, so blatantly BS,
it demands a response from ALL Conferences.
WheresMyCrackpipe
July 15th, 2011
4:29 pm
Does this mean that UGA has to hand over our 2009 ACC championship too???
tar and feathers party
July 15th, 2011
4:34 pm
THE TOP 50 FOOTBALL SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY NEED TO DROP OUT OF THE NCAA AND FORM THEIR OWN ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. LET THE NCAA SURVIVE ON THE LOWER TIER OF FOOTBALL OR NOT! AND KEEP THE LIBERAL ARTS TYPES OFF THE BIG 50 FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION’S GOVERNING BODY!
Alabama Jack
July 15th, 2011
4:36 pm
Y’all do know Marcus Wilson is an ex-second string UNC Tarheel footballer, right?
tar and feathers party
July 15th, 2011
4:36 pm
Since when is the exercise of one’s legal rights a punishable offense? I suggest Ga Tech sue the NCAA for defamation of character! Take every cent the worthless association has, then go after the assets of all its employees and committee members.
tar and feathers party
July 15th, 2011
4:37 pm
Get their pensions too!
T3
July 15th, 2011
4:41 pm
I am shocked that the NCAA has an employee like Marcus Wilson,
who sounds so unbelieveably stupid and unprofessional,
working as an Investigator.
W……….Whiskey
T………..Tango
F………..Foxtrot
tar and feathers party
July 15th, 2011
4:41 pm
Send the linebackers after markus!
panzytechieschedual
July 15th, 2011
6:20 pm
There is one thing we know for sure georgia techie football and basketball players are not smarter than a 5th grader. (duh, hun, like, whut) and they are passing thier grades at tech. Oh I forgot they dont check to see if they are passing at techie and if you dont check then they are able to play because you dont know and you can always say it not my job to see if they go to school at techie they show up for practice.
DRad Fan 2
July 15th, 2011
7:16 pm
The NCAA really is stretching on this one. I stand behind DRad and CPJ. That Marcus Wilson interview was BS.
GDUB
July 15th, 2011
7:35 pm
SHEED IM TRYING TO KNOW WHO HYPE IS HE SOUND LIKE HE GOT ALL THE HOES IN ATLANTA
John Riggleman
July 15th, 2011
8:21 pm
Who is Calvin Booker? I didn’t even know he ever played for GT cause I never heard of him.
sharecropper
July 16th, 2011
7:46 am
What “KB” said. There’s hardly any question that Tech screwed the pooch, so to speak, and its football program in the end maybe actually got off light, but not because of anything Thomas may or may not have done but because both the AD and the head coach clearly prompted players’ responses. But if that transcript is accurate, then your average third grader “interviewing” an astronaut would make more sense. The NCAA guy is next to incoherent. Shoot, maybe the AD and Johnson prepped their guys better than the NCAA prepped its “investigator”?
ill buy a ticket to see
July 16th, 2011
2:54 pm
nate and john aka fridge mover pound sand on one another. anybody else?
1. if we have a chance to void a 7 million buyout because the ncaa deems the bb violations major and drad passes than imo he should be canned.
all the damage that phew has done to our program including other infractions, loss of schollies due to a lack of academic progress, constantly finishing in the bottom 3d of the conference and taking our program to laughing stock levels…. and drad doesnt try to get our buyout back? OUR buyout not his. that is inept.
also lets not forget that it was phewitt in his roll as president of the BCA that called the ncaa a racist organization. that certainly did not go over well with the ncaa.
2. i think that there is more going on here than meets the eye. imo there is a possibility that the ncaa is looking for a lower level bcs school to use as a scapegoat. i could see the ncaa finding more on us before our 4 year probation is up and giving our sports programs the death penalty to set an example.
after all over the last 2-3 years the usc debacle, the auburn situation and now the tosu fiasco has made the ncaa look real bad.
what better way to send a message to all the ncaa bcs schools by giving a lower level bcs school the death penalty and not killing the horse that pays the bills in the process.
teams like tosu uga au etc all contribute millions of dollars in revenues to the ncaa coffers. gt…. a mere blip on the overall picture of dollars an cents. the ncaa could afford to lose what little revenue gt generates and send a strong message to the rest of the schools to straighten up… or else.
it would be interesting to see a compilation of all the ncaa infractions by school that has occurred over the last 10 years…. minor and major…. in any sport.
if you look at gt alone we have had various infractions in most of our sporting programs including tennis softball fb and bb to name a few. And there have been repeats.
it would be interesting to see a list of all the schools and the total number of infractions. add to that phew’s racist comments and i think that gt has put itself in a tenuous position.
HABOTN.com | MontgomeryAdvertiser.com | Covering Auburn University Athletics
July 18th, 2011
12:36 pm
[...] ALSO: Former Auburn QB Cal Booker was part of this whole deal as well. [...]
Jay
July 18th, 2011
8:38 pm
Dan R should at least agree with the NCAA that the basketball mess was major; the penalties stay the same, anyway. But the payoff is about $ 7MM. GT would not be required to pay Coach Hewitt his severance if there were major NCAA infractions on his watch, if you read the contract. If GT doesn’t get the $7MM because of Dan and the President’s insistence on GT’s integrity and ethical conduct, then they both should resign immediately. Even this life-long Tech fan understands that ethics and sportsmanship left almost all college sports many years ago, and if we can salvage something from this disaster, let’s admit we were wrong, collect the cash, and move on. Go Jackets!!!