Smith named in bribery scandal

Pres. Harris identifies former USD basketball head coach Lamont Smith as coach named in indictment

Anderson Haigler / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

Two weeks ago, court documents made public by the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that in 2016, a then-unnamed “varsity sports coach” at the University of San Diego accepted bribes to help facilitate the admission of two prospective students, one of which is currently enrolled at the university. That coach has since been identified as Lamont Smith, former USD men’s basketball head coach, according to a statement released by USD President James T. Harris III, D.Ed, last Wednesday. The statement, which confirmed that Smith was the coach in question, cited a newly-lifted “confidentiality order” from the federal government as the reason for the delay in Smith’s identification. It also mentioned that the university has retained an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into USD’s alleged involvement.

Harris’ statement links Smith to a nationwide college admissions scandal that included schools such as Yale, Stanford, and the University of Southern California. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” resulted in an indictment that described how a “varsity sports coach at USD,” who has since been identified as Smith, accepted bribes. The exact amount of the bribes mentioned in the indictment were not explicitly stated, but they were described by the indictment as “similar” to $100,000 bribes paid to a college coach at another school. In exchange for one of the bribes, the indictment states that Smith designated “the (prospective student), who did not play the sport, as a recruit for the university’s team, thereby facilitating his admission to USD.” 

According to the indictment, the alleged bribe was paid by the student’s father, Los Angeles real estate CEO Robert Flaxman, and was facilitated by William Rick Singer, the founder of The Edge College & Career Network, LLC, a for-profit college counseling business, and The Key Worldwide Foundation,  a purported charity. 

The USD Vista has obtained the identity of Flaxman’s son, and confirmed that he is a current student at USD who enrolled in 2016. Because Flaxman’s son is not mentioned by name in the indictment, however, The USD Vista has decided not to publicly identify him at this time. Other than the alleged bribe, Robert Flaxman’s son is not believed to have had any involvement at any time, legitimate or illegitimate, with the USD men’s basketball team. Flaxman is not listed on any team rosters dating back to the 2016-2017 season.

The federal indictment states that the former USD coach received a $10,000 bribe for “help in securing” the admission of Robert Flaxman’s daughter, although she did not elect to attend USD. 

According to public federal tax records retrieved by The USD Vista, Smith received a salary totaling $379,799 as USD men’s basketball head coach in 2016, the year he is alleged to have taken the two bribes. 

Smith, 43, played basketball at USD in the late ‘90s, and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies in 1998. He served as USD men’s basketball head coach from 2015-2018 before resigning from his position in March of 2018. His resignation came after his arrest the previous month at Oakland International Airport on three domestic violence-related charges that occurred during the Toreros’ final road trip of the 2017-2018 season. According to records released by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, officers were dispatched to the team’s hotel after reports of a domestic violence incident. Smith’s resignation statement cited a desire to “ensure that USD and the team be able to move forward without any distractions,” and made no mention of other misconduct. The domestic violence-related charges against Smith were eventually dropped by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office due to “insufficient evidence.”

In April of 2018, Smith was hired as the top men’s basketball assistant coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Last Wednesday, however, UTEP athletic director Jim Senter announced in a statement that Smith had resigned, effective immediately, and that the athletic department would “have no further comment on the matter.” 

One day after Smith’s resignation from UTEP, The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Smith’s New York-based attorney Charles Clayman released the following statement.

“Although the allegations against Mr. Smith are not relevant to his role at the school, he felt it would be in the best interest of the students, faculty and staff to take this action,” Clayman said. “Lamont is deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with the talented athletes and coaching staff at the University of Texas at El Paso and wishes his players continued success in their studies and careers.”

According to Clayman’s website, the attorney “specializes in white-collar criminal defense.”

Smith has not yet been charged with any crimes in relation to the scandal. Why he was not named in the DOJ indictment like several other allegedly involved college sports coaches and whether any criminal charges are currently pending against him is unclear. 

University of San Diego Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics Bill McGillis declined to be interviewed or comment on Smith’s involvement in the scandal. 

In his statement to media and the USD community, Harris emphasized his belief that the scope of the university’s alleged involvement in the scandal is limited.

“Based on our review of the information available to us to date and on what the government has told us as recently as this morning, the only USD employees, students or applicants involved in the alleged wrongdoing are the three people identified by the government: Lamont Smith and two applicants,” Harris said in the statement. “Of the two applicants, one is a current student and one declined admission. We continue to have no reason to believe that any other employees, students or applicants were involved in or aware of any wrongdoing. Certainly, if different or new information comes to our attention, either through the results of the investigation or otherwise, we will take appropriate action to respond.”

Harris declined to elaborate on his statement in an interview, citing USD’s ongoing independent investigation of the matter.

The most recent allegations against Smith represent the latest of multiple scandals in the history of the men’s basketball program at the University of San Diego. In 2013, the Toreros’ second all-time leading scorer Brandon Johnson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in federal prison for his part in a point-shaving scheme that occurred during the 2009-2010 season. 

In an email, Harris said that the university’s independent investigation into the scandal  would not be completed for “another few weeks.”