Ex-LSU Tigers basketball star Anthony Blakeney faces charges in a massive college basketball game-fixing scheme, allegedly leading an international bribery conspiracy.
It has been an interesting couple of months for the members of the 2015/2016 LSU Tigers Men's Basketball team. Ben Simmons has recently become a pro fishing owner, and now Anthony Blakeney has been wrapped up in an NBA game-fixing investigation.
Per the indictment, Blakeney is being charged as one of the ringleasers of a college basketball and Chinese basketball game-fixing scandal.
Blakeney is allegedly one of the people who would target college basketball players who could be bribed to fix games for more money than they would make in any NIL deals. More than 39 players across 17 Division I teams have been involved with point-shaving with this ordeal.
This came after Blakeney, while playing with the Jiangsu Dragons of the CBA, was allegedly approached by and joined Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen in their scheme. The guard joined the scheme and then recruited others.
The indictment states that around April of 2023, Fairley left a package containing around $200,000 in cash in a Florida storage unit owned by Blakeney. Their reported bribes to college players ranged from $10,000 to $30,000.
United States Attorney David Metcalf released this statement in a press conference:
“The stakes here are far higher than anything on a bet slip. The criminal charges we have filed allege the criminal corruption of collegiate athletics through an international conspiracy of NCAA players, alumni, and professional bettors. It’s also yet another blow to public confidence in the integrity of sport, which rests on the fundamental principles of fairness, honesty, and respect for the rules of competition. When criminal acts threaten to corrupt such a central institution of American life, the Department of Justice won’t hesitate to step in.”
If convicted on the bribery in sports contests charge, Blakeney could face five years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Each conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charge carries a 20-year imprisonment term, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Blakeney played for the Tigers for two seasons. He was a high school All-American and initially came to play with Ben Simmons. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 45.8/35.8/72.4 shooting splits as a sophomore.
He went undrafted in 2017 and spent a few years with the Chicago Bulls, mostly playing in the G League. He averaged 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game on 40.6/35.7/69.6 splits across 76 career NBA games.
Blakeney has been playing overseas across a number of leagues since 2019. He is currently playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. He had 27 points, two assists and four rebounds in his latest game this past Sunday.