Meet Rashan Michel

[Storrs South]

Meet Rashan Michel, the suit-making middleman caught in college hoops scandal

Right now, any relationship with Rashan Michel raises questions. If you’re a college basketball coach who has been photographed wearing one of his suit coats with the trademark yellow stitching around the lapel buttonhole, you might have some explaining to do. (Many, but not all, of Michel’s coats have that stitching.)

One such coach is 2014 national champion Kevin Ollie of Connecticut. Ollie is prominent on Michel’s Instagram feed. When called for comment, Ollie deferred to UConn basketball spokesman Phil Chardis.

“He said, ‘I really don’t know the guy, I bought a couple suits from him, that’s all I understand about the guy,’ ” Chardis related.

Still, one Instagram picture dated Aug. 7, 2014, appears to show Michel with Ollie in the UConn basketball offices, with one of the school’s national championship trophies partly visible in the background.

 

[tcf15]

 

[Storrs South]

It could be something, could be nothing. I really really hope it's nothing.

 

[Stainmaster]

@ Huskymagic is this why you made so many posts criticizing Ollie's suit game? Coded message?

 

[jleves]

Those are really cheap prices for a bespoke suit.

 

[James]

What about his pics with frank kaminsky? Honestly though, I don’t see a picture of Michel in a UConn facility

 

[tcf15]

The quoted post is the only photo of Kevin Ollie on Rashan Michel's instagram feed. Maybe he deleted the others?

This is the only one from August 7, 2014:

 

[CardiacAndre7]

This hasn't been a great day for us.

 

[aceboon]

There's a certain "element" thats noticeable in the reporting of Thamel and Forde on these scandals that's hard to ignore

 

[LIuconn]

2 for 2000
4 for 4000

where's the volume discount?

 

[jibsey]

Unless this guy made suits for our players paid for by KO what’s the problem?

 

[HawkHusky]

Unless this guy made suits for our players paid for by KO what’s the problem?

Ya, that link wasn't very informative. I'm confused as to his involvement. Was Mr. Rashan forwarding free suits to kids in exchange for signing with certain programs?

 

[awfuldan]

Ollie has earned the benefit of the doubt here, for me at least.

This is a dude with solid NBA connections who sells suits. Ollie bought a couple of those suits. Is there anything to this beyond that? Doesn't seem like it, but we'll see.

 

[upstater]

There's a certain "element" thats noticeable in the reporting of Thamel and Forde on these scandals that's hard to ignore

Thamel has always been a UConn hater.

 

[Dove]

I remember Marcus Camby getting free suits from a West Hartford clothier.

 

[Huskymagic]

@ Huskymagic is this why you made so many posts criticizing Ollie's suit game? Coded message?

Lol. The problem with Ollie is that he says all the right things but doesn't inspire confidence and admiration.

Having a shady suit salesman attached to his name is not a good look. Thankfully this will hopefully lead to a return to normalcy in suit fashion.

 

[WestHartHusk]

2 for 2000
4 for 4000

where's the volume discount?

Was about to post the same thing.

 

[jibsey]

Lol. The problem with Ollie is that he says all the right things but doesn't inspire confidence and admiration.

Having a shady suit salesman attached to his name is not a good look. Thankfully this will hopefully lead to a return to normalcy in suit fashion.

It’s never good when you have crossed paths with someone who ends up in trouble and who occaisionally doesn’t, but how on earth is it KO’s fault for purchasing clothing from a guy who deals with athletes? Athletes that make a lot of money don’t clothing shop at Walmart. This has nothing to do with what KO says or whether he should be admired or not.

 

[The Viking]

Im hearing if he bought cumberbuns from this guy his days are numbered

 

[Huskyforlife]

I'm confused, what is Ollie being accused of doing wrong? Did this guy give our players free suits?

 

[MexicoHusky]

The thing that bothers me about the story is the missing pics of KO on the tailor's instagram. The story says pics of KO ar prominent. I didnt find any of the pictures mentioned. Were the pics deleted? Did the author make it up? If they were deleted I'm worried.

 

[auror]

For those wondering his involvement:
Auburn associate head coach Chuck Person: Person allegedly agreed to take $50,000 in bribes from Rashan Michel to push prominent college athletes to work with him as the owner of an Atlanta-based clothing company.

Or from the article in OP:
"He stands accused of conspiring with former Auburn assistant coach and NBA star Chuck Person, among others, to commit federal crimes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office complaint released in late September alleges that Michel conspired to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to “assistant coaches at various … Division I men’s basketball programs” in exchange for them directing players toward certain agents or financial advisers when they turned pro. In addition to accepting financial kickbacks himself, Michel also expected to be cut in as the tailor of choice for those players."

So his MO was make suits for professional athletes and coaches, then he started using his connections with coaches to funnel money from financial advisers to the coaches in order to influence the players at the schools to choose said advisers (and himself as tailor). He's directly implicated with Person, but the article says anyone who he made suits for has to be sweating because he's getting indicted and could flip if they had any illegal bribery dealings with him.

 

[Chief00]

Wearing a Washington State Football hoodie was the line that jumped off the page to me. Hopefully, he just got it from a football player enroute to the draft.
No inside information on that, just an observation about a guy living in Atlanta and the background of someone else in the news.

 

[CTMike]

Everyone in college basketball is only a degree or two away from someone shady. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than the whole sport is dirty.

 

[mauconnfan]

Lol. The problem with Ollie is that he says all the right things but doesn't inspire confidence and admiration.

Having a shady suit salesman attached to his name is not a good look. Thankfully this will hopefully lead to a return to normalcy in suit fashion.

Really? How do you come up with this stuff magic man?