NCAA bans four Alabama State players for game-fixing scheme

The NCAA announced Friday that four former Alabama State men’s basketball players were declared permanently ineligible for accepting payments from gamblers to fix a game during the 2024-25 season.

Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines, and Tony Madlock were alleged to have engaged in game manipulation during a Dec. 5, 2024, contest against Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles, a six-point favorite, won 81-64. According to the NCAA, two known bettors offered the players a total of $2,000 to throw the game, and the players accepted and were later paid.

Knox, Hines and Madlock were Alabama State’s top three scorers that season. Knox’s layup with a second remaining secured the Hornets’ first NCAA Tournament win, a 70-68 victory over Saint Francis in the First Four. Fulcher was a reserve player that season.

The two bettors were indicted in January by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports betting. The NCAA uncovered the scheme after Hines transferred to Temple University and was contacted by the FBI, which showed him text messages related to the game-fixing scheme.

None of the players participated in college basketball last season, the NCAA said.

Source: Original Article