NEW YORK — A former sports agent has told Sports Illustrated he paid college football players early in his career, including three former University of Colorado athletes.
In the Oct. 18 edition, Josh Luchs said he paid more than 30 players from 1990-96, including many who didn’t sign with him. Included in that list are former Colorado players Kanavis McGhee (linebacker, 1987-90); Joel Steed (nose tackle, 1988-91); and Greg Thomas (safety, 1989-91).
Steed told the magazine he did not take money. Thomas and McGhee did not respond to SI’s interview requests. McGhee did not return calls to The Post.
Luchs said he paid McGhee $2,500 before the 1990 season, trying to entice him to be a client. No dollar amounts were given for Steed or Thomas.
“These are allegations that are some 20 years old, and as one of the few people who remain associated with the program that was present at the time, I have no recollection of these events and also severely doubt the credibility of the accusations and question the motive of the agent involved,” CU associate athletic director of sports information Dave Plati said Tuesday.
“I’ve never heard of the NCAA going that far back in any investigations. Our belief here is it’s total fabrication.”
In a release from CU, former coach Bill McCartney said:
“It seems absurd to me that nothing like this has surfaced for 20 years, and now suddenly there are rumors and innuendo concerning members of a team that was so close-knit, and I’m referring to both players and coaches. I absolutely never heard anything anywhere close to this at the time or in the 20 years since until today. It’s really hard to respond to or dignify this when nothing has surfaced before now.”
Luchs was suspended for a year by the NFL Players Association in 2007 over the handling of a commission check. He said he’s telling his story now because “I don’t want my career to be defined by that suspension.”
Julie Manning, CU’s associate athletic director in charge of NCAA compliance, said there is a four-year statute of limitations for secondary violations. There is no statute for bigger violations, which this would be.
Asked how seriously CU is taking this, Plati said, “I think they are going to look into it and see what they find out.”
