University of Miami football coach Al Golden said Wednesday no one at the school informed him of Nevin Shapiro's allegations involving improper benefits for players prior to him accepting the job in December.
Golden briefly spoke to reporters the morning after Yahoo! Sports released a bombshell report detailing how Shapiro allegedly provided millions of dollars worth of illegal benefits to at least 72 UM athletes between 2002 and 2010.
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"If they knew this was percolating, I believe they did have a responsibility to tell me," Golden said prior to the Hurricanes' morning practice, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
"They had a responsibility to tell [athletic director] Shawn [Eichorst]," Golden added. Eichorst was hired by Miami in April.
The university issued a statement Tuesday saying Shapiro first made the allegations nearly a year ago, but the former booster and his attorneys refused to provide the school with details. The school said it notified the NCAA of the allegations and is cooperating through a joint investigation.
But Golden, who left Temple University in December after five seasons, appears to have been kept out of the loop on the troubling issue and now finds himself in the middle of a massive scandal that could result in severe penalties for Miami's football and basketball programs.
On Tuesday, prior to the release of the report, Golden said he "absolutely" would have taken the job had he known about Shapiro's allegations, but that was before the astonishing details of the scandal emerged.
Shapiro, currently incarcerated for his role in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, told Yahoo! Sports benefits for Miami players included cash, prostitutes, entertainment, trips, jewelry, bounties for on-field play and even an abortion on one occasion.
Former UM basketball coach Frank Haith -- currently at the helm at Missouri -- was named as one of the coaches who knew of the violations by his players. Shapiro alleged a $10,000 payment was made to help secure the commitment of forward DeQuan Jones, a Miami recruit in 2007.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Haith's Missouri contract has a termination clause that could be triggered if he violated rules prior to his arrival in Columbia.
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