John Phillips is one of the agents implicated in Yahoo! Sports’ report about agents funneling money to a handful of college football players. Via text message, Phillips told AL.com that the story is “libelously out of context,” but did not expand on that.
Agent John Phillips calls Yahoo! SEC report ‘libelous’
One of the agents accused of using a runner to provide illegal benefits to college football players in a recent Yahoo! sports report isn’t happy about the story or one of its authors.
“Yahoo failed to return my call and got things libelously out of context. That said, I have no comment as I want to make sure those involved with regulating these matters get my statement if they want before the media.”
Before making his Twitter account private, Phillips tweeted that Charles Robinson -- who co-wrote the report -- didn’t return a phone call the day before the article was published. He also called Robinson a coward.
According to the Yahoo! story, Phillips and several other agents gave thousands of dollars to former Alabama defensive end Luther Davis, who distributed some of the cash to former Alabama offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, former Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, current Vols player Maurice Couch, and former Mississippi State players Chad Bumphis and Fletcher Cox.
This isn’t the first time Phillips has been part of some controversy in recent years. He admitted to editing and posting online a video of Gus Malzahn’s wife that wasn’t very complimentary. Malzahn called it manipulative and “very unfortunate.”
Last month, Phillips attempted to broker a deal on behalf of a client to sell pictures of Johnny Manziel signing autographs. This occurred not long after a report from ESPN alleged that Manziel had been paid to sign photos and memorabilia, in violation of NCAA rules.
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