“Yeah, it was dirty. But he knew it was dirty!”  That’s what a Washington D.C. accountant has to say in response to a recent lawsuit filed by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, who alleges that his former agent and AAU coach provided thousands of dollars in illegal benefits to Beasley and his mother before he entered the NBA.  Read more after the jump.
Last week, we noted reports that Beasley was suing agent Joel Bell and coach Curtis Malone, accusing them of conspiring to represent him while he was still a teenager and providing his mother with cash and other favors, including moving her to Kansas so that she could be near him during his single season at Kansas State University.
Shortly thereafter, CBSSports.com’s Wildcats RapidReports notedthat a Kansas newspaper reported that George Holloway, a Washington, D.C. accountant, provided $11,200 to Fatima Smith, Beasley’s mother, to cover her rent while she was in Kansas.
In a subsequent interview with the Washington Post, Holloway admits to being the money man but says that Beasley knew what was happening the whole time.
“I was just trying to be helpful,†Holloway said in a telephone interview. “They both couldn’t afford it. . . .In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t done a thing. But I didn’t have anything to gain from it.â€
“Beasley knew everything,†Holloway said. “His mother knew everything.â€
“I’ve helped tons of kids, many of which never played college [basketball] or anything beyond high school, that I met through the D.C. Assault program,†Holloway said. “It was a give-back for me.â€
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Malone’s attorney denies that his client set up the arrangement between Holloway and Smith. Holloway is on board with that, saying his financial relationship with Beasley’s mother did not involve either Bell or Malone.
“The whole thing over this Beasley-Joel Bell thing, I don’t like either side of the argument,†Holloway said. “But I will tell you this: The truth of the matter is, as it relates to me, Fatima approached me directly. Michael approached me directly. And neither Joel, nor Curtis, had anything to do with any of it.â€
Clearly, Holloway is prepared to take the fall for everything. And that makes sense. Of all the key players, he has the least to lose. He isn’t an agent who wants to continue being an agent, he isn’t an AAU coach that wants to continue to be an AAU coach, he isn’t an NBA player whose shaky reputation is being put even further into question and he isn’t Kansas State University, a program that could be subject to harsh NCAA sanctions given that everyone seems to agree that illegal benefits were given to Beasley’s family. Assuming that Holloway only broke NCAA rules and not any laws, he should be able to continue life as an accountant once this all blows over.