Memphis HC Penny Hardaway staff firing saga: Anonymous letter reveals NCAA violation in the men’s basketball program

Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway abruptly dismissed four of his coaching staff on Wednesday, sparking a major controversy. Assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Jamie Rosser, Faragi Phillips and special adviser Demetrius Dyson were let go.

"I want to thank Rick, Faragi, Jamie and Demetrius for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program," Hardaway said in a statement. "These are good coaches that I've worked with closely over the past few seasons, but I made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff."

In a new development to the saga, the university's athletic department announced that an anonymous letter has surfaced alleging NCAA rules violations within the men's basketball program.

"The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA," university spokesperson Michele Ehrhart told ESPN.

The letter reportedly came into existence roughly a day after the firing. However, there was no mention of any of those staff members who were let go.

As per The Athletic, the letter accuses Penny Hardaway of breaking the rules by getting personally involved in recruiting two players. It reportedly says he helped arrange a $30,000 payment through the player's prep school coach to get one of the players to commit to Memphis in 2020.

The letter also claims that Hardaway spent another $60,000 and provided an apartment to a recruit to secure their commitment. However, that player never ended up playing a game for the Tigers.

Penny Hardaway's history of missteps at Memphis

Penny Hardaway's sudden firing of his coaching members is not the first time he has been involved in controversy. Since he was hired in 2018, he has been dealing with problems off the court.

During the 2019-20 season, Hardaway was involved in controversy when five-star recruit James Wiseman was suspended for twelve games due to claims of improper recruiting benefits. The NCAA investigated Wiseman and other recruits for 18 months but eventually decided that Hardaway had not broken any rules.

Last year, in a separate infraction, the NCAA suspended Penny Hardaway for three games for recruiting rule violations and not following a head coach's responsibilities.

Similarly in 2022, the NCAA looked into possible recruiting violations at Memphis. While coach Hardaway was found not guilty of any wrongdoing, the school itself was penalized. Memphis was placed on probation for three years, fined $5,000, and had its men's basketball budget cut by 0.25%.