Rick Pitino: Adidas won battle to keep Romeo Langford
Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino said that Adidas won a battle to sponsor an AAU team run by Romeo Langford's father as part of an effort to land the star prospect at an Adidas-sponsored college.
Pitino told Courier Journal on Wednesday that two Adidas officials met with Langford's father in early 2017 to discuss their efforts to keep Nike and Under Armour from sponsoring the highly touted recruit from New Albany.
“What they said to me (was) they’re doing everything possible to keep Romeo Langford’s team on the (Adidas) AAU circuit," Pitino told Courier Journal.
Langford recently signed with Indiana University, an Adidas-sponsored school. He chose Indiana over other finalists Kansas, an Adidas school, and Vanderbilt, which has a Nike sponsorship.
Pitino said a high-profile recruit like Langford signing with an Adidas-sponsored school such as Indiana could be a boon to the company's brand image.
“These kids today have a big following," Pitino told Courier Journal. "Because Romeo’s wearing Adidas shoes, kids follow their local legends. It’s part of the market.”
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The news of Adidas' efforts to keep Romeo Langford was first reported by The Washington Post.
Pitino and Adidas sources told the Post that Tim Langford wanted to run his own youth basketball team featuring his son. Adidas, Nike and Under Armour each operate basketball leagues, which they use to develop relationships with high school recruits.
Adidas' league added a new team: Twenty Two Vision, which featured Romeo Langford as a player and Tim Langford was reportedly the team director.
“The way they phrased it, it was whoever (shoe company) was going to pay the dad’s AAU program the most money, gets it,” Pitino told the Post. "... “That’s the way that world works. Which is completely legal, by the way.”
An apparel company sponsoring a prospect's travel team or high school team is common and is neither illegal nor necessarily in violation of NCAA bylaws.
“I don’t think they did anything wrong," Pitino said of Adidas sponsoring Langford's team. "I think they did what they’re supposed to do. They’re trying to keep a great player on their circuit and that’s all they’re doing. That’s the free market. That’s what they do. A lot of times they waste a lot of money on programs that are not going to (have players) play in the NBA.”
Pitino, who was recruiting Langford before he was fired as Louisville's head coach amid a federal college basketball recruiting investigation, shared text messages with the Post that supported his story.
Courier Journal efforts to reach Romeo's father, Tim Langford and New Albany boys basketball coach Jim Shannon were unsuccessful. An Indiana University spokesperson told the USA TODAY Network's IndyStar the university had no comment.
Pitino has filed a civil lawsuit against Adidas, which ended its contract with the coach after he was fired amid allegations Adidas employees and at least one Louisville assistant coach were part of a scheme to funnel money to the families of a pair of basketball recruits. Pitino claims the employees' actions in the alleged scheme ruined his reputation.
See also:Romeo Langford 'thankful' for New Albany court named in is honor
Tim Langford told the Post that money from the Adidas sponsorship was paid to a non-profit foundation set up by John Jeanty, a Louisville-area personal trainer and family friend, according to the report.
Courier Journal confirmed Jeanty incorporated a foundation called Family United Foundation and the foundation uses the same P.O. Box that is listed on the Twenty Two Vision basketball program's Facebook page.
The foundation's directors are Jeanty; Tim Langford; Tisha Langford, Romeo's sister; Robert Griffin; and Todd Sander.
It was not clear what relationship Griffin and Sander had to the Langford family or Jeanty, and neither could be immediately reached by Courier Journal on Wednesday.
Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650; tsullivan@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins.