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WRAL has been investigating NC State’s on-going saga with former WR Eric Leak (who has been accused of giving players illegal benefits) and have found out that he is still up to his old antics.
As we reported a few weeks ago, NC State has kicked Leak off NC State property and then filed a ‘no trespassing’ order for him and his wife after their car was ticketed while parked on campus.
WRAL has dug pretty deep on this and has really exposed a lot of what Leak is doing. Here are some excerpts…
Leak also has a business relationship with Leslie, Amerson and other former Wolfpack players through a sports management company called Hot Shot Sports.
Leak said he has eight players under contract, none of them from NC State. He said Hot Shot Sports is more of a hobby and love than a business.
Registered to his wife Emily, but run by Leak, Hot Shot Sports promoted autograph signings for charity earlier this year. There are also dedicated web pages that tag the individual players as “Hot Shot” athletes. WRAL found those same references on the website for Atlas Sports Agency, which represents Amerson.
Atlas owner J.T. Johnson, based in Gadsden, Ala., said Hot Shot provides some day-to-day services for players, like house hunting and bill paying.
Johnson told WRAL that Leak played no role in steering Amerson to the agency.
Leak said he serves as a mentor to Amerson and other pros, often dealing with teams, agents and day-to-day player needs. He argued that he has no business relationship with Amerson or Leslie. “I have not made a dime on them,” he said.
Johnson’s take is different. He said Amerson and others pay Leak for the services.
and then this…
According to an October 2013 tax record in Wake County, Leslie, who was cut by the New York Knicks of the NBA just last week, co-owns a newly purchased Land Rover with Leak.
Tax records show the Leaks own about $500,000 in cars, including a $131,000 Maserati, a Porsche and a Jaguar.
Leak also has car connections with Amerson. He admitted he loaned Amerson, who was still enrolled as a student at NC State at the time, a brand-new Porsche Cayenne.
Amerson was stopped for speeding in that same car on Jan. 3, just three days after the Wolfpack’s bowl game – and before any public report of Amerson declaring for the NFL Draft.
“You have to be careful with the choices you make, because you don’t want to jeopardize your career,” now-Washington Redskins cornerback Amerson said before the start of the season.
Asked about Leak, Amerson described him as “a good guy and has good intentions. Definitely just an all-around good person.”
Guilford County tax records reveal Leak and Amerson now co-own a Land Rover and a Porsche – each purchased in June. Amerson, who signed a four-year, $3.85 million deal with the Redskins in May, has even posted a video online of himself with a Porsche.
Currently NC State seems to be doing everything they can to make sure it’s known that they are trying to stop this at all cost, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worried.
“Most of the time, if it looks suspicious, there’s a smell test,” said WRAL writer Carlton Tudor said. “If it doesn’t smell exactly right, it’s enough to get the school worried. And in this case, NC State is worried.”