One of the four Alabama State men’s basketball players ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA earlier this month is disputing his alleged role in a point-shaving scheme.
In an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal, a part of the USA TODAY network, TJ Madlock said he did not accept payments from gamblers to fix the outcome of his team’s 81-64 loss to Southern Miss on Dec. 5, 2024, adding that “nothing that (the NCAA) put out is true.”
Advertisement
Unlike his three teammates who were implicated – Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher and Corey Hines – Madlock did not play in the game in question. Madlock had left the Hornets’ previous game, a 101-72 loss at SMU two days earlier, early in the second half and did not play in their following game, either, a 103-93 overtime win against UT Martin.
REQUIRED READING: TJ Madlock denies involvement in college basketball betting scandal, NCAA claim
“I was added into a group chat, but I never responded to anyone’s texts,” Madlock said to the Commercial Appeal. “Why would I respond, knowing I wouldn’t be playing? Also, why would somebody pay me for sitting on the bench? That doesn’t even make any sense.”
The NCAA alleged that Madlock and his three teammates took part in a FaceTime call the morning of the game with one of the two known sports bettors involved. It said the players agreed to throw the game and received $2,000 for doing so. The NCAA said in its release announcing the punishment that Madlock had informed the bettor that he was injured and wasn’t going to play that night.
Advertisement
“I’m a little pissed off, honestly,” Madlock said to the Commercial Appeal. “It’s like, how could I fix a game I’m not playing in?”
Madlock said he had never spoken to the NCAA over the course of its investigation. The NCAA said Madlock had declined to participate in an interview with enforcement staff. Madlock told the Commercial Appeal that the NCAA had initially sent him an email to an address he no longer uses before reaching out to his father, then-Alabama State head coach and current Memphis associate head coach Tony Madlock, who forwarded the email to Alabama State’s athletic director and compliance director.
Madlock, who had no eligibility remaining after the 2024-25 season, said if he had known the consequences of not agreeing to an interview, he “would’ve 100% talked to them and told them my side.”
Madlock has hired sports attorney Don Jackson, who has been in communication with NCAA enforcement staff and will be formalizing a demand for a retraction. Jackson told the Commercial Appeal he will also make direct contact with the NCAA’s general counsel and the head of the Committee on Infractions.
Advertisement
“If it’s not corrected, (Madlock is) going to have no alternative other than to pursue legal action against the NCAA and selected individuals that were involved,” Jackson said to the Commercial Appeal.
As a senior in 2024-25, Madlock averaged 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for an Alabama State team that won the first NCAA tournament game in program history, a 70-68 victory against Saint Francis in the First Four. He played professionally last season in Germany, where he averaged eight points per game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: TJ Madlock denies role in point-shaving scheme that led to NCAA ban
