Hunter Admits Taking Cash to Play Football

Tony Hunter, formerly a University of Minnesota running back, testified Tuesday that he received cars, clothing and weekly cash payments from coaches and athletic boosters to play football.

Testifying as a prosecution witness against Luther Darville, a former Minnesota official charged with swindling nearly $186,000 over five years from the school, Hunter said he collected up to $1,000 a week from an assistant coach in Joe Salem’s administration and from university alumni.

Meanwhile, Andre Gilbert, another former player, testified that members of Minnesota’s coaching staff made racial slurs against him and, once joked it would cost less than a dollar to buy the friendship of the poor in a Chicago neighborhood where Gilbert grew up.