Due to infractions he committed while serving as an assistant football coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils (at the time, Herb Edwards was the head coach of ASU), Antonio Pierce, the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, was suspended by the NCAA for eight years.
The NCAA stated in a 67-page investigation that Pierce was the head of a “scheme” that took place at Arizona State to “circumvent restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Thirty-five recruits were contacted as part of Pierce’s “scheme,” which the NCAA classified as “tryouts, football facility tours and entertainment.”
Additionally, it was found that the head coach of the Raiders gave an ASU assistant instructions to tamper with a student-athlete who had already committed to another college.
The NCAA also discovered that Pierce had provided them with “false or misleading information” and had failed to provide them with any financial records. Also in the probe, a staffer for Arizona State said Piece “did not fear the potential consequences for NCAA violations.”
