The former head of UCLA’s NIL football group denies any wrongdoing
The former head of UCLA football’s collective image and likeness on Thursday denied any wrongdoing related to a report that exposed efforts by the school’s athletic department to funnel NIL donations through its nonprofit charitable foundation.
Story published by Muckraking College Football foiaball.com He showed email communications from UCLA athletic department officials who direct payments intended for Bruins for Life, the school’s football program’s collegiate NIL, through Shelter 37 Inc., a tax-exempt charity aimed at enabling homeownership and helping local youth through a variety of activities.
Donating through Shelter 37 would provide a tax deduction not available to those who donate directly to Bruins for Life — a standard practice in the NIL industry — but it also raises questions about a potential conflict of interest and control of funds given that James Washington ran Bruins for Life until recently and remains Shelter 37’s president.
The story also questioned Shelter 37’s charitable endeavors and suggested that UCLA athletic department officials encouraged the evasion of Internal Revenue Service guidelines regarding so-called donor-advised funds, funneling money to Shelter 37 that could not go to other companies that take a more conservative approach to NIL rules.
Emails received previously foiaball.com A public records request showed nearly half a million dollars in donations intended for Bruins for Life go through Shelter 37, with school officials asking anyone sending money through the latter organization to specify that it is for NIL football.
Washington said there was nothing untoward about the arrangement agreed to by UCLA and it included full transparency.
“Nothing going on between Shelter 37 and UCLA and the Bruins for Life is in the closet,” Washington, a former UCLA standout who won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, told The Times. “Everything has been discussed, every step, every action I have done towards NIL, every step – bookkeeping and everything – has been dealt with and handed over to UCLA.”
In a statement, a UCLA Athletic Department spokesperson said, “UCLA Athletics operates with integrity and transparency, and in a manner consistent with industry best practices. Our development team educates potential donors about a range of giving opportunities, including ways to support our student-athletes.”
In what Washington described as an unrelated move confirmed by an athletic department official, UCLA recently turned over its NIL football operations to new leadership, allowing Bruins for Life to transform into an alumni football club. Washington said the Bruins for Life website was temporarily inactive as part of this transition and that it would still have an NIL component that provides community outreach opportunities for football players.
Along with longtime UCLA donor John Mannock, Washington led Bruins for Life’s fundraising efforts when it debuted in October 2024 as the new NIL arm of UCLA football.
“It’s really exciting, because it’s going to support our student-athletes in football in a real positive way,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said at the time.
the foiaball.com The story claimed that the Bruins for Life website stated that it was not a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning that any donations it accepted were not tax deductible. The website directed those wishing to donate to Shelter 37, a 501(c)(3) organization that it said could receive tax-deductible contributions.
Shelter 37’s 2024 IRS 990 tax form, the story reported, Published by ProPublica, It showed a jump in revenue to $4.8 million in 2024, up from $800,000 the year before. The document said $3.6 million was raised for the Bruins for Life NIL program but only $200 was raised for scholarships for at-risk youth.
Washington said the latter number was misleading because Shelter 37 was not a scholarship-based organization, although it helps at-risk children through a variety of community services. The Times reviewed one tax document from Shelter 37 that indicated nearly seven figures were spent on scholarships, education programs and housing.
“This happens when people don’t check the facts, they just post things and they just try to make the story bigger than it needs to be,” Washington said.
Over the years, Shelter 37 has held numerous community events such as turkey drives, soccer camps for inner-city kids and “I’m Going to College” days where the organization paid for buses to take students to football games at the Rose Bowl, Washington said.
the foiaball.com The story claimed that Shelter 37 was being used as a workaround for donor-provided funds that had been in limbo. A UCLA athletic department employee who was notified that a donor fund had been declined sent the letter to other internal fundraisers, along with a message saying: “Just as an information. Here is information about Shelter 37 for DAF gifts.”
A new center for donor-advised funds was needed after another company, Blue Print Sports, halted its charitable operations in the wake of the IRS recommendation, with its legal counsel citing “no path forward.” According to the documents I reviewed foiaball.com, An official with the UCLA athletic department emailed Washington shortly after the IRS guidance was issued, informing him of a $15,000 donation through Bank of America that should be directed to Bruins for Life.
Washington said there was nothing illegal about accepting money from donors, and that every step his organizations made was within the rules.
“Any dollar that was given to me has a track record, and we have a communication document that explains what went out and how it was received,” Washington said. “they [UCLA athletic officials] They know exactly what went in the accounts, they know exactly what came out because it was all revealed and we were communicating and I was acting as a vessel during the Wild, Wild West period to try to help the UCLA football program succeed in this new era of what we call the NIL.