Share and Follow
Cal State Bakersfield isn’t typically in the spotlight, especially when it comes to its sports teams. While wrestling might be its standout discipline, men’s basketball doesn’t usually garner much attention.
However, the university’s basketball program made national news on Thursday.
Kevin Mays, a former assistant coach at CSUB, was reportedly involved in a criminal enterprise spanning four states, according to ESPN. The university discovered the allegations through an anonymous email in August, which prompted an internal investigation and led to Mays’ dismissal. Subsequent police investigations resulted in 11 criminal and misdemeanor charges against him.
Mays was relatively new to the coaching staff, having joined in June after a three-year stint as a CSUB player. His position paid $3,000 per month.
Just two months into his role, an alarming email with the subject line “IMPORTANT MESSAGE 911 911” was sent to then-head coach Rod Barnes. The email accused Mays of “trafficking a girl since May.”
“FIX IT OR THE WHOLE STAFF WILL FALL,” the email read.
Barnes sent the email to CSUB’s human resources office. It was eventually forwarded to university police, leading to the investigation.
Police found the victim through a sex advertisement posted in Sacramento and ran a sting operation in September disguised as a “date.” The woman said Mays was her “boyfriend,” and he often covered costs of hotels, rental cars and flights for her work.
Mays was arrested the next day.
Police searched his car and found multiple firearms and a large stash of drugs. They looked through his phone, finding around 600 photos of children as young as 4.
Through the investigation, police also discovered that the woman had been involved in a DUI charge in a car that only Mays and other CSUB staff members were allowed to operate.
The ordeal resulted in Mays’ charge, which included felonies such as pimping and charges for possession of automatic firearms, possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to sell and child pornography.
Mays pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is currently being held without bond, while investigators finish conducting follow-up interviews, Bakersfield police said.
In the aftermath of Mays’ scandal, CSUB announced in September that Barnes and athletic director Kyle Conder had left the university as well. It’s unclear whether their departures were connected to the events.
CSUB senior director of strategic communications Jennifer Self did say that the school took a “broader look at (its) athletic program” following Mays’ arrest.
Conder’s termination was announced a few days after Mays’ arrest, but he said in a lawsuit against CSUB that he was fired in August before the tip to Barnes. Conder stated that he was made a “convenient scapegoat” due to the timing of the announcement, which made it seem like he was “directly tied to” the scandal.