Why ‘Teddy Dupay’ Might Be The Most Telling Character In Nevin Shapiro-Miami Scandal

The details in Charles Robinson’s Yahoo! Sports investigation of thousands of alleged violations at the University of Miami go deep and deeper. Some are painfully serious (like an alleged abortion for a stripper), some are just character tells. Nevin Shapiro, the booster at the center of the scandal (and the man who chirped to Yahoo!), says he checked into hotels to throw prostitute parties for Miami football players under the name “Teddy Dupay” -- that (the alias, not the sex party) is telling.

Shapiro says he took the name because he looked like the diminutive Dupay, who was most recently seen attempting to get marijuana legalized. Dupay was notably short for a basketball player when he played at the University of Florida in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s; Shapiro is listed at 5’5. Under allegations of gambling on Florida games, Dupay left the program after his junior season while maintaining his innocence.

The aftermath of that investigation, allegation and decision to leave UF reads almost like a cliché: a guy who thinks he’s hot s--t gets himself into trouble, which leads to more trouble (like rape and kidnapping charges in 2008). Nevin Shapiro made his fortune on a Ponzi scheme that now has him in the clink for 20 years. He used that money to ingratiate himself with college and high school kids. He saved reams of photos with said college and high school kids. He says he bought players like Vince Wilfork Escalades, he says he bought Devin Hester a diamond engagement ring (which was presented to Hester’s gal at Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, thanks to tickets Shapiro provided). More trouble, more trouble, more trouble. Now he has the ire of a city and extended Miami community trained on him. He keeps digging.

That someone who would look at Teddy Dupay as an identity worth borrowing -- even for something as impermanent as a hotel check-in -- would find himself in the mess Shapiro finds himself in now is not at all surprising.