Adidas trial: Text messages from KU’s Bill Self, Townsend shown as evidence

Text messages from Kansas Jayhawks basketball coaches Bill Self and Kurtis Townsend to former Adidas consultant Thomas “T.J.” Gassnola took center stage Monday as a federal court case into college basketball corruption winds down.

Gassnola reiterated Monday that KU’s basketball coaches had no knowledge of his payments to families of two KU players. However, text conversations were presented as evidence by the defense in an effort to show KU’s staff knew about Gassnola’s involvement in recruiting players to the Jayhawks.

The text messages were shown on a screen in the New York courtroom. No recording devices are allowed in the court.

On Aug. 9. 2017, Gassnola texted KU’s assistant Townsend in a conversation about Fenny Falmagne, the guardian of then-recruit Silvio De Sousa, now a KU sophomore. Gassnola told Townsend, “Hit me when you can,” and Townsend replied, “Coach Self just talked to Fenny. Let me know how it goes.”

Gassnola also texted Self, saying he talked with Falmagne. Self asked “we good” over text, and Gassnola replied “always,” saying this was light work and the ball was in Falmagne’s court now.

That same day, Gassnola texted Self to call him when he had five minutes and he was alone. The two had a five-minute, six-second phone conversation. The call was not wiretapped by the FBI nor played in court.

Adidas executive Jim Gatto’s defense attorney, Michael S. Schachter, asked Gassnola on Monday if he could recall what he and Self talked about.

“I don’t,” Gassnola said.

Gassnola, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, is a government witness in the case against Gatto and two other defendants, who are accused of wire fraud conspiracy by paying the families of top basketball recruits, which would render them ineligible under NCAA rules and defraud the schools, including Kansas.

Last week, Gassnola testified that he offered Falmagne $20,000 but never paid it, saying he did give him $2,500 so De Sousa could take online classes. Gassnola also has testified during the trial that he paid the family of former KU player Billy Preston $89,000.

Asked by Schachter if Self knew about those payments to Preston’s family, Gassnola testified “Never.”

On Sept. 19, 2017 — three days before KU Athletics announced a 12-year contract extension with Adidas — Gassnola texted Self to tell him thank you for helping to get that extension done. Self replied via text that he was happy with Adidas and wrote “Just got to get a couple real guys.”

Gassnola responded with a text that said, “In my mind, it’s KU, Bill Self. Everyone else fall into line. Too (expletive) bad. That’s what’s right for Adidas basketball. And I know I’m right. The more you have lottery picks and you happy. That’s how it should work in my mind.” Self replied by text, “That’s how ur (sic) works. At UNC and Duke.” Gassnola answered by saying Kentucky as well. “I promise you I got this. I have never let you down. Except (Deandre). Lol. We will get it right.”

In this case, Gassnola was referring to center Deandre Ayton. Gassnola testified Thursday that he felt he let Self down when Ayton chose Arizona instead of KU.

Self, when asked at last week’s KU basketball media day for comment about the federal trial, said: “No I don’t have any response. I can’t talk about that. I’m not meaning to be opaque about this at all. I just feel like … our stance is still the same. We’ll comment when the time is appropriate. The appropriate time is when this is done and that’ll certainly be the case. I’m not going to make comments day to day on what has been said because we’ll know obviously in the next couple weeks what actually this is all about.”