Allegations: Jon Beason
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Nevin Shapiro on Beason: Play audio
Miami booster Nevin Shapiro alleges he provided multiple extra benefits to Jon Beason during his career with the Hurricanes. Among the benefits he claimed to have provided:
- Jon Beason
Position: Linebacker
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Rivals recruiting rank: Ranked as the No. 6 outside linebacker in the Class of 2003.
Miami career: After taking a medical redshirt his first season, Beason quickly emerged as another great linebacker in the Hurricanes’ lineage, developing into one of college football’s top defensive players. He departed after his junior season and was selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. He is currently a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Panthers.
• Cash gifts.
• $1,150 in bounties. Shapiro said he paid Beason $650 in bounty money for his first career start at Virginia on Nov. 13, 2004. The cash was doled out for Beason notching eight tackles ($50 each) and a sack ($250) in a 31-21 win. The booster said a second bounty of $500 was paid for a hit that Beason put on Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt during the runback of a fumbled snap in a 23-3 win over Colorado on Sept. 24, 2005.
• Entertainment on Shapiro's $1.6 million yacht and personal watercraft on multiple occasions.
• Drinks and VIP access in nightclubs on multiple occasions.
• Meals at Miami-area restaurants paid by Shapiro.
Nevin Shapiro said Jon Beason signed this photo for him during the 2006 season, with the personal message inscribed to Shapiro’s nickname among players: “Lil’ Luke” The nickname was short for “Little Luther Campbell,” an homage to the recording artist who was also known for providing extra benefits to Miami players. Beason’s inscription to Shapiro on the photo reads, “Lil Luke, Thanks 4 the love, Jon Beason 2”.
(Special to Yahoo! Sports)
Corroborating accounts
• One source corroborated Beason having received cash from Shapiro.
• One source corroborated Beason being on Shapiro's yacht.
• One source corroborated Shapiro buying Beason meals at Japanese steakhouse Benihana.
• Two sources corroborated Shapiro entertaining Beason with drinks and VIP access in nightclubs. One such incident included a May 2005 Mansion nightclub event featuring Jay Z.
• Yahoo! Sports acquired Shapiro's May 2005 American Express black card statement showing a bill of $9,738 on the night the booster said Beason attended a Mansion nightclub event featuring Jay Z.
In Shapiro's words
• "Jon Beason was – he was my dude. We were real cool. I gave him cash. We played pool. We hung out. We were really friends. It wasn't a matter of [being] about a ballplayer, because at the time I met him, he was really a nobody with regards to [being] a football player."
• "There were bounties a number of times. He collected a few times. He was on my boat [so many times] I can't even tell you. My jet skis, just an endless amount of times. … He partook in everything. Alcohol, nightclubs. Cash here and there."
Nevin Shapiro's cell phone providers condensed his calling records from 2002 to 2008 and deleted the booster's text messaging records prior to 2009. Despite a significant portion of his records being expunged, Yahoo! Sports was able to identify 162 calls or texts between Shapiro and Jon Beason from 2005 to 2010. These are two pages showing communication between the booster and two phone numbers linked to Beason. PDF file
This page from Shapiro's May 2005 American Express black card statement shows a bill of $9,738 for Mansion nightclub on May 14, 2005. The former booster identified the night as a Jay Z appearance at the nightclub, in which Shapiro hosted a large group of players in his VIP section and made "more than a dozen" bottles of champagne and multiple bottles of high-end liquor available in his section. One former Miami football player corroborated the event, including his attendance and that of several other players. Shapiro alleged a large contingent of Miami players partied in his VIP area, including Jon Beason, Tavares Gooden, Rocky McIntosh, Brian Monroe, James Bryant, Bryan Pata and Willie Williams. PDF file
Beason did not return a message left on his cell phone.
