Money Ties Agent and K.C. Coach

Financial ties between Los Angeles sports agent Jerome Stanley and Myron Piggie were revealed in a lawsuit filed by Stanley, seeking to recover $43,500 in loans from the summer-league basketball coach in Kansas City.

The lawsuit, obtained by the Kansas City Star, said Piggie promised to “promote” Stanley’s firm in the basketball community. Payments were made, starting on Aug. 1, 1997, and ended May 8, 1998, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this year. Piggie’s cousin and one of his AAU players, Korleone Young--who was a second-round draft choice by the Detroit Pistons in 1998--hired Stanley. Piggie fired Stanley in 1998.

Piggie, who has a criminal record going back to the ‘80s and is reportedly under investigation by a federal grand jury, denied receiving the loans. UCLA sophomore forward JaRon Rush testified before that grand jury in November and was suspended indefinitely on Dec. 10 after federal authorities met with Athletic Director Peter Dalis, providing information about alleged NCAA violations.

The school is looking into Rush’s ties to Stanley and Piggie. Three of Piggie’s former players have been suspended in seven days.

On Tuesday, Missouri suspended Kareem Rush, the younger brother of JaRon, looking into whether he broke NCAA rules before he signed with the Tigers. Once again, the action was trigged by a campus visit from federal authorities from Kansas City.

A school official confirmed Friday that Missouri had completed the Kareem Rush investigation and sent it along to the NCAA.

The third player is freshman Andre Williams of Oklahoma State, who was suspended by the school Friday. As in the other cases, the action was taken after discussions with federal authorities, this time at Stillwater, Okla.