Gardner’s Father Took Cash From Cal

Tom Gardner, the father of former California basketball player Jelani Gardner, said Tuesday night that he accepted cash from a representative of the Bear basketball team before his son’s enrollment.

But Tom Gardner denied a San Francisco Chronicle report that a family member received $30,000 from the school to ensure that Jelani Gardner enrolled.

“I accepted the money, but it wasn’t that much,” Tom Gardner said, refusing to specify the amount. “Jelani was not aware of any of the negotiations. I accepted it for travel.”

The elder Gardner said the negotiations took place in a 1994 meeting he attended with Cal Coach Todd Bozeman, Butch Carter, who is believed to be close to the Cal program, and James Casey, a relative of the Gardners.

Gardner said he believed the money was for expenses that he might incur in traveling from his home in the San Gabriel Valley to Berkeley.

Bozeman, who has repeatedly denied recruiting violations, did not return repeated messages left for him Tuesday night.

Gardner said he accepted the money from Carter, but Bozeman knew everything about the payments.

Jelani Gardner, who played two seasons at Cal before transferring to Pepperdine this fall, denied that he knew about the payments.

“I didn’t have anything to do with [the payments],” Jelani Gardner said Tuesday. “I based my decision to attend Cal with it being the best situation for me. I had no knowledge with any money being exchanged.”

The investigation likely prompted Bozeman’s resignation and it will result in an NCAA letter of inquiry later this month.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from accepting any extra benefits that are not available to all students.

When asked how the cash payments might affect his son’s eligibility, Tom Gardner said: “I’m not worried. I’m the one who went to the NCAA about this.”

Tom Gardner said he brought the issue to the NCAA two years after the alleged payment in an effort to get Bozeman fired. Tom Gardner was believed to be discouraged with Bozeman because his son was getting less playing time.

Tom Gardner said he was not sorry to see Bozeman go.

“Nobody else at the university or the basketball program did anything wrong,” Gardner said. “It was just [Bozeman].”

The Cal basketball program, a Pacific 10 conference power that only three years ago appeared headed toward being one of the best in the country, is now facing NCAA charges that reportedly include players accepting cash and gifts from agents.