Boston Celtics assistant coach Jerome Allen pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to accepting an $18,000 bribe in 2014, according to multiple reports.
Allen’s plea agreement with the government requires Allen to repay the $18,000 in addition to a $200,000 fine.
Allen, who joined the Boston staff in 2015, will remain on the staff but will likely face a suspension, according to multiple reports.
At the time, Allen was the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania and accepted the $18,000 bribe from the father of a prospective student “for the purpose of using my position as coach to help his son get admitted to the school as a ‘listed’ recruit,” Allen said in a statement.
“I failed on many levels,” said Allen in a statement. “Primarily, I had a failure of character. I did not live up to the high standards I set for myself, or were expected of me in the position that I held.
“I am heartbroken that my players — current and former — will know that I broke the law. But, I do hope that some good may come out of this. I wish to model to my young players how one accepts responsibility for wrongdoing, including the consequences that come from unlawful behavior.”