Former Alabama OL D.J. Fluker tweeted in April that he took money from agents
Five months ago, former Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker tweeted that he had taken money from an agent while a student-athlete at Alabama.
Almost immediately, the tweet was taken down and Fluker’s agent claimed he was hacked.
However, in light of Wednesday's Yahoo Sports story that implicates Fluker as one of five SEC players that took money from agents while in college, the tweet might have just been Fluker, who had already left school to enter the NFL draft, getting a few things off his chest.
All five players were tied to former Crimson Tide defensive End Luther Davis, who was acting as intermediary between the players and the agents.
Yahoo Sports authenticated multiple transactions tying Fluker to Davis and others, including cash transfers, hotel stays, furniture, airline flights and other expenses. The records also included a pair of invoices – one submitted to Davis by the mother of an Alabama teammate for monies that had been spent on Fluker's mother, Annice; another sent from Davis to Fluker's onetime financial adviser Hodge Brahmbhatt.
When Fluker sent the tweet back in April, it was quickly dismissed because it didn’t fit the rest of his timeline, which consisted of several religious quotes. So when Fluker’s agent Deryk Gilmore told al.com that the tweet didn’t come from his client, the whole thing died down pretty quickly.
“I’ll tell you, of course, this wasn’t him,” Gilmore said, according to AL.com. “It was bull (bleep), and it’s a shame. And anyone who believes it was him and wants to believe the worst, you go ahead and do it.
“I mean, my company has an outstanding reputation. This kid, we didn’t even give him a guarantee to sign with us. We gave him nothing. My whole point is that for all the people who are out there saying the worst, let them believe the worst.”
Gilmore is not mentioned in the Yahoo Sports story.
Fluker is currently with the San Diego Chargers, but his admission in conjunction with the evidence in the Yahoo Sports story could cost his team its 2012 national championship if the NCAA finds the evidence sufficient enough to sanction Alabama.
Alabama athletic director Bill Battle issued a statement shortly after the Yahoo Sports article was published:
“We have been aware of some of the allegations in today's story and our compliance department was looking into this situation prior to being notified that this story was actually going to be published. Our review is ongoing. We diligently educate our student-athletes on maintaining compliance with NCAA rules, and will continue to do so."
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