Top universities have begun retaliating against coaches who were allegedly involved in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal that broke Tuesday. Several college coaches caught up in the scheme fraudulently claimed students were recruits in exchange for bribes, federal authorities said. Stanford University has fired sailing coach John Vandemoer, the University of California, Los Angeles placed soccer coach Jorge Salcedo on leave pending a review, and Wake Forest University has suspended its head volleyball coach. Details of the federal investigation were announced on Tuesday, with dozens of wealthy parents being charged in connection to the scheme—including Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. In a statement, the NCAA says the “charges brought forth today are troubling and should be a concern for all of higher education.”
According to court documents, Vandemoer was charged with accepting a total of $270,000 in contributions to the school’s program for agreeing to recommend two prospective students for admission. Salcedo allegedly helped get two applicants who did not play competitive soccer into UCLA in exchange for $100,000 in 2016 and 2018. And Wake Forest’s Bill Ferguson is accused of accepting $100,000 to recruit a student who had been on the school’s wait list.
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