Billy Preston says Kansas 'wasn't blind' to players being paid by Adidas

Billy Preston is at the center of the FBI investigation into Kansas regarding payments to players from Adidas representatives. He opened up about the situation during an appearance on an ESPN 30 for 30 podcast this week.

Preston was featured on Bag Game, which looks at the NCAA corruption scandal and ensuing FBI investigation through Preston’s eyes. He and Silvio De Sousa were two of the players at the center of the situation as an Adidas bag man allegedly paid people close to them, and KU completed its infractions hearing over the weekend, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde reported.

Preston opened up about the nature of the relationship with Adidas — and said Kansas “wasn’t no victim.”

“As soon as we got to KU, I’m an Adidas kid now that I play for KU,” Preston said, via The Kansas City Star’s Shreyas Laddha. “He (T.J. Gassnola) is an Adidas rep. They’re an Adidas school. They put us together just off the strength of them being an Adidas school and them having that type of power where they can be like, they can tell him, ‘Oh yeah, we want you to get in contact with Billy. We want you to tap in with Billy and get that whole process rolling.’ Yeah, that’s the only thing I’m going to say about that. KU wasn’t no victim.”

In 2018, Gassnola testified paid Preston’s family $89,000, and podcast host Paula Lavigne asked him directly if he knew about the payments to Nicole Player — his mother — or “other people.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Preston said, repeating the word “yeah” four more times. “They wasn’t blind to that. They weren’t blind to that at all.”

In Kansas’ response to the amended notice of allegations in 2020, the university said it was “a victim of Gassnola’s and [former Adidas executive James] Gatto’s crimes.” Preston disagreed with that statement and said the Kansas program helped orchestrate those meetings.

“They ain’t no victim; they knew what was going on, too,” Preston said. “They put the whole thing together. They set it up. Like, KU was the whole reason we even met.”

Preston also pointed to an exchange with Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend. He said Townsend — who was suspended for four games this past season — told him he would “introduce” Player to Gassnola and help “link them up together.” Player also disagreed with the statement that Kansas was the “victim.”

“Victim? If anybody was a victim it was the family that Adidas preyed on,” Player said. “We left the school and weathered the storm and never one time did I come out and say we’re victims. When the reality is, if anybody is a victim here, we’re victims of a corrupt system. We’re a victim of college corruption, corruption that has gone on for decades before us and will continue to go on decades after us.”

After completing the infraction hearing, Kansas will now await a resolution to the investigation, which Forde reported could come by late summer.