Yahoo! Sports published its story Tuesday afternoon, hours after Miami coach Al Golden said he was certain that his team would "stay focused" amid an NCAA investigation into claims Shapiro first began making about a year ago.
Shapiro also claimed he paid for restaurant meals and in one case, an abortion for a woman impregnated by a player. One former Miami player, running back Tyrone Moss, told Yahoo! Sports he accepted $1,000 from Shapiro around the time he was entering college.
"Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami," Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports. "With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. We're talking about high school football players. Miami officials began cooperating with NCAA investigators not long after Shapiro made claims about his involvement with players last year. University president Donna Shalala and athletic director Shawn Eichorst were questioned by the NCAA this week. The school reiterated Tuesday it takes the allegations seriously.
Many current Miami players also were named by Shapiro as receiving benefits, Yahoo! Sports reported, including quarterback Jacory Harris, Ray Ray Armstrong, Travis Benjamin, Sean Spence, Marcus Forston, Vaughn Telemaque, Dyron Dye, Aldarius Johnson and Olivier Vernon. Former Miami quarterback Robert Marve, now at Purdue, also was named by Shapiro, Yahoo! Sports said.
Current Miami players were not made available to comment Tuesday, and will not be made available before Wednesday's practice, the university said.
Yahoo! Sports also said Shapiro paid Wilfork $50,000 as a recruiting tool to sign with sports agency Axcess Sports & Entertainment, a firm Shapiro claimed he co-owned for much of the time he was involved with the Hurricanes. Yahoo! Sports reported players got cash and benefits through Shapiro's partner, former NFL agent and current UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue.
Reached Tuesday by The Associated Press, Huyghue denied that story.
Also reported by Yahoo! Sports:
—Shapiro said he paid basketball recruit DeQuan Jones $10,000 to secure his commitment. All the coaches named by Shapiro have since left Miami. —Shapiro said he paid for 39 different players to receive sex from prostitutes. Yahoo! Sports' report on alleged NCAA violations at the University of Miami is sending shockwaves through the college football world.
The probe focuses on Hurricanes booster and convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, who said he provided benefits to 72 players over an eight-year span at Miami.
If the Yahoo reports are true, however, Miami would have a much harder time denying knowledge of Shapiro's actions, as he was a well-known booster and donor to the university. Fox Sports' Thayer Evans wrote Wednesday that the Miami case is just the latest in a series of NCAA blunders.
Marve is among the 72 current and former Hurricane players implicated in the Yahoo! Sports report that focused on the role Miami booster Nevin Shapiro had with the program. Shapiro is in jail for a $930 million Ponzi scheme.
Marve spent two years at Miami before transferring to Purdue in 2009. In the Yahoo report, written by Charles Robinson, which came out on Tuesday, Shapiro said he provided multiple extra benefits to Marve, which violates NCAA rules. Yahoo released photos of Marve and Shapiro, as well as credit card statements, as corroboration.
The NCAA is investigating the allegations and Miami’s role in them.