Former Iona Gaels Basketball Player Ruled Ineligible for Game-Fixing
The NCAA has ruled that former Iona Gaels basketball player Adam Njie Jr. is permanently banned for game-fixing during the 2024-2025 season.
Adam Njie Jr. banned from NCAA
Although Njie Jr. claimed he did not engage in game-fixing as a freshman at Iona University, he has still been ruled permanently ineligible.
Njie Jr. was approached by gamblers to shave points, and during the investigation, he was cooperative and agreed to the violations he had made.
While his collegiate basketball career is over, Njie Jr. was not charged with any crime.
Investigation into point-shaving
In the investigation, six game-fixers were identified in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indictment.
The NCAA became aware of Njie Jr. after interviewing a source in two separate cases in July and September of last year. The source stated that two gamblers contacted the Iona player to shave points for a 2024 game against Rice in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission sent up the red flag for three $15,000 bets for Rice to cover the spread in the first half. The game was tied 35-35 at the half, so Rice did not cover in a losing bet, and Njie Jr. was the co-leader of Iona with 19 points.
The aftermath
The gamblers contacted Njie Jr. after the game and threatened him. He then told them he would make up for the loss in another game against Sacred Heart. The NCAA did not state which bets were placed for that game. However, depending on the sportsbook, Iona was a 1 or 1.5-point favorite against Sacred Heart. In the game, Njie Jr. did not take a shot in the first half, and Iona was down 21 points at halftime before losing 83-59.
Njie Jr. had a promising freshman season for the Gaels in 2024-25 as the second-leading scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game. He transferred to Dayton after that season, but did not play because NCAA and Department of Justice investigations were ongoing. He then transferred to Hampton to resume his career before being ruled ineligible.
Eastern District of Pennsylvania indictment documents
Investigators noted that the gamblers would attempt to bribe the athletes with payments that would supplement or exceed their NIL earnings, according to documents from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA). They would go after players for games where their teams were the underdogs, where their performance would help them cover the bets.
In a release statement by the NCAA in the case against Njie Jr., it stated, “The act of sharing information with a bettor is prohibited by NCAA legislation and is treated the same as point-shaving from an NCAA enforcement perspective, regardless of whether the student-athlete goes through with throwing the game.”
NCAA crackdown
The NCAA has been trying to crack down on college betting and the integrity of the game for years.
Not only are current investigations into point-shaving and game-fixing underway, but they have also reached out to state gaming authorities in their effort to ban bets such as player prop wagers, which are vulnerable to manipulation.
