Two former Fordham men's basketball student-athletes are permanently ineligible as a result of violations involving potential game manipulation for sports betting reasons, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. One student-athlete agreed to his violations but denied that he followed through on manipulating the game outcome, and the second student-athlete did not cooperate with the investigation.
The individuals — Elijah Gray and Will Richardson — are no longer members of the school's men's basketball program and are not currently competing in NCAA college sports.
In September 2025, the NCAA enforcement staff interviewed a third party in connection with another sports betting investigation after discovering that the third party had ties to two known bettors (who were later indicted Jan. 14 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports contests). The third-party individual stated during that interview that one of those known bettors made contact with men's basketball student-athletes under the guise of being an agent for name, image and likeness and then recruited some of those student-athletes to underperform in games for sports betting reasons. The third party indicated that several student-athletes — including individuals at Fordham — were potentially connected to that known bettor.
After the interview, the NCAA enforcement staff contacted state gaming regulators to identify bets placed by the known bettor. The Mississippi Gaming Commission noted that a $10,000 bet had been placed on a February 2024 game involving Fordham, in which the individual bet that Fordham's opponent would win. Enforcement staff reviewed the Fordham men's basketball roster for that season and identified three individuals who were connected to the known bettor on social media, including Gray and Richardson.
In a September 2025 interview with enforcement staff, Richardson reported that Gray told him someone had offered to pay him if Fordham lost the game. Richardson denied being part of calls with Gray and the known bettor. During the interview, enforcement staff warned Richardson about the confidentiality requirements of investigations, including not speaking about his interview with former teammates.
In a later interview, another student-athlete on Fordham's team indicated that he had overheard Gray, Richardson and a fourth student-athlete discussing throwing a game for money.
When interviewed by enforcement staff, Gray acknowledged that he had exchanged messages with one of the known bettors and stated that he and Richardson subsequently participated in a call with the bettor and a former NBA player who was involved in the scheme. Gray stated that both players agreed to lose the game in exchange for $10,000-$15,000 in payments each. However, Gray stated that he ultimately reconsidered manipulating the game and said he played with his normal effort, and Fordham won the game. The bettor contacted Gray after the game to express disappointment, and Gray stated that he did not respond to the message or continue to communicate with him. Gray also did not receive any payment from the bettor. He said that Richardson, however, continued to communicate with the former NBA player and showed Gray screenshots of their messages, though Gray did not recall the contents of those messages. Gray also stated that Richardson reached out to him after Richardson's September interview with enforcement staff.
When interviewed again in October 2025, Richardson denied participating in the scheme and denied communicating with the known bettors and the former NBA player. He also denied telling Gray about his enforcement interview, despite call logs indicating the two had communicated the day before Gray's interview. Phone records also indicate that after the October interview, Richardson again contacted another student-athlete who had not yet been interviewed by the enforcement staff. As a result, Richardson failed to cooperate with the investigation by knowingly providing false information during an interview and failing to preserve the integrity of the investigation. The factual record also indicates that Richardson violated ethical conduct rules when he provided information to a known bettor.
Gray agreed that he violated ethical conduct rules by providing information to a known bettor, though he maintained that he did not follow through on the scheme. He also expressed remorse for his actions. Richardson declined to participate in the processing of his case. Gray's and Richardson's violations of ethical conduct rules are Level I.
Failure to cooperate in an NCAA investigation — including knowingly providing false information during an interview — violates NCAA rules. Richardson's failure-to-cooperate violations are Level I.
Although the Committee on Infractions does not currently assess penalties for student-athletes who violated NCAA rules, their participation in violations is not without consequence. Student-athletes who are found to have violated NCAA rules are ineligible and can only be reinstated with the assistance of an NCAA school.
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and public. The panel members who reviewed this case are Norman Bay, attorney in private practice; Jody Conradt, retired women's basketball head coach and special assistant to athletics at Texas; and Steve Waterfield, athletics director at Oakland and chief hearing officer for the panel.
