Kimble Won’t Comment on Gathers Allegations : Jurisprudence: Relatives of the late Loyola standout have testified that he received cash payments while in school.

An attorney for Bo Kimble said Thursday that Kimble would not comment on the allegations made by relatives of Hank Gathers that a Loyola Marymount booster gave money to Gathers while he was on a basketball scholarship at the school.

“We have advised Bo not to comment because of the pending litigation, and we don’t want his comments to affect the outcome of the case,” said Leonard Armato, Kimble’s attorney.

Gathers’ mother, Lucille, and brother, Derrick, said in court depositions that Albert Gersten, a Loyola alumnus, gave Gathers money while he was on scholarship at the school. The depositions were taken under oath in connection with a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family against the school and 13 other defendants. Gathers died March 4 of cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder.

Gersten has denied giving money to Gathers or his family. The NCAA prohibits such gifts.

Gathers, Kimble and Corey Gaines, a former UCLA and Loyola basketball player, worked during the summers for Gersten, a Beverly Hills real estate developer who also owns fast-food franchises, according to Gaines.

“But I don’t know anything about any other money,” Gaines said Thursday from Pensacola, Fla., where he was playing in a Continental Basketball Assn. game for the Yakima Sun Kings. “We worked for Gersten for three summers. We used to move things and stuff.”

Derrick Gathers also said in testimony that Gathers worked a summer job for Gersten and a short-term job in Philadelphia one summer for a dating service.

The NCAA allows athletes on scholarship to hold jobs during the summer.

Lucille Gathers testified that after Gathers transferred from USC to Loyola, she began receiving money and gifts from him. She said Gathers told her he got the money from Gersten.

She said that Gathers wired her money three or four times, and gave her cash in person about 10 to 15 times during the three-year period. She estimated the total cash she received from her son at $2,000, along with gifts that included living and dining room furniture, clothes and a VCR.

Wayne Boehle, an attorney representing Loyola, said that only $260 was wired by Gathers to his mother.

Meanwhile, Cal State Northridge is looking into testimony by Lucille Gathers that Gersten gave money directly to Derrick, who attended Northridge from 1988-90 on a basketball scholarship.

Bob Hiegert, athletic director for Northridge, said that in his interpretation of NCAA rules, “a gift to an athlete from an outside source is a violation, period. The timing of when (the gift) was made and the circumstances under which it was given have to be investigated.”

Times staff writer Theresa Munoz contributed to this story.