Nevin Shapiro on Fernandez: Play audio
Miami booster Nevin Shapiro alleges that Jorge Fernandez witnessed him having impermissible contact with University of Miami football players in October 2008. Among the booster’s allegations:
- Jorge Fernandez
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- Position: Men’s basketball assistant coach
- Miami career: Fernandez was an assistant on the men’s basketball team from 2004 to 2010, with his last four seasons spent as the associate head coach. Fernandez was named by Rivals.com as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country at one point during his tenure with the Hurricanes. After the departure of head coach Frank Haith to Missouri, Fernandez joined the staff at Marshall University.
• Shapiro said Fernandez and fellow men’s basketball assistant Jake Morton were on hand for an outing at Miami Beach’s Dolce Ultra Lounge in October 2008, when the booster had multiple football players drinking in his VIP section. Shapiro said Fernandez spent time mingling in his section with multiple players, including Robert Marve and Randy Phillips.
• Shapiro said Fernandez also violated an NCAA rule by bringing then AAU-coach Moe Hicks to his home and being on hand when the booster paid for Hicks to be entertained at Dolce Ultra Lounge in October 2008.
Corroborating accounts
• Yahoo! Sports acquired multiple photos from Shapiro’s VIP section at the Dolce Ultra Lounge in October 2008. In one, Fernandez can be seen talking with Shapiro in the section, with Marve only feet away. In other photos, Phillips can be seen mingling in the same section where Fernandez and Morton were photographed.
• The photos from Dolce Ultra Lounge also show Fernandez on hand with Moe Hicks as the AAU coach was being entertained in Shapiro’s VIP section.
In Shapiro’s words
• “I met Jorge Fernandez with Jake Morton. After hanging out with them a few times, we became close and I did whatever I could to help them. As far as being out that night [at Dolce Ultra Lounge in October 2008], they were in my suite during the game earlier that day and I was introduced to Moe Hicks and two others [with the Miami basketball coaches].”
• “They came to my house around 9 to 9:30 at night and we shot the [breeze], and then we all went out to Dolce. Once there, about 15 guys from the football team showed up to meet me and that was all. Everyone knew who everyone was. It was no secret, and everyone trusted me running interference with any compliance or university issues.”
Did not respond to a request for comment through the Marshall University sports information department.
