High School Coach, Who Worked With Arrested Tennis Coach, Speaks Out On Varsity Blues Scandal

High School Coach Gerald Mathews is shocked by the involvement of U of Texas Head Coach, Michael Center, who recruited his top tennis player.

The “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal has not only resulted in the indictments of celebrities like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, but also the college coaches who have been accused of accepting bribes. Gerald Mathews, Team G Tennis and high school Tennis coach at Calabasas High School, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that he knows one of the people indicted in the multi-million dollar cheating scandal. “I have known the University of Texas Head Coach, Michael Center, for years,” Mathews told us. “He recruited my Top Junior player who accepted a full scholarship to the University of Texas to play tennis Fall 2019.” Center is being accused of allegedly accepting $100,000 in 2015 to help get a prospective student into the University of Texas-Austin.

Since Center was charged with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and his dismissal from the University of Texas-Austin, Mathews is stunned. “I have not been in touch with anyone who has been indicted since the allegations were confirmed,” Mathews went on to tell us. “I have been in touch with Coach Center before this incident on quite a few occasions regarding my player, but I had no idea of his involvement. I’m still so shocked by it all… I was shocked by the number of people involved in the scandal and how many different sports programs across the country participated.”

“College entry has become such a cut-throat and competitive business,” Mathews added. “The college a person goes to has such a big impact on the types of jobs and careers one can have after graduating. It’s all about the status quo for some people, whose motives are wanting their kids to be seen a certain way and to have access to certain opportunities — and unfortunately, you cannot put a price tag on that. It needs to be earned. Some people will stop at nothing to acquire a certain reputation.”

Mathews feels that this will have far-reaching implications in how prospective college athletes apply to schools in the future. “This only make the screening process for athletes more difficult,” Mathews said. “Kids, coaches and programs will be more scrutinized as a result. I think everyone will take the process more seriously as it relates to fact-checking of transcripts and profiles in the future. These kids deserve a fair shake no matter what.”

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