Jazz Assistant Coach Sidney Lowe Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Utah Jazz assistant coach Sidney Lowe found himself in trouble with the Tax Man earlier this year, and Lowe pleaded guilty Wednesday in North Carolina to charges that he failed to file state income tax returns while coaching North Carolina State University. Per the Salt Lake Tribune: “Lowe, who was expected to re-join the Jazz around half-time of Wednesday night’s game against the Kings, had a 45-day jail sentence suspended and was placed on probation for 36 months, according to a release from the North Carolina Department of Revenue. The 53-year-old Lowe was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and to pay more than $79,200 in restitution and a fine of $2,000. Attorney Lee Turner, told The Associated Press that Lowe ‘has been very embarrassed by this from the beginning,’ attributing the failure to file to his client being inattentive to detail. ‘I assure you this is something that is never going to happen again,’ Turner said. According to the Department of Revenue, Lowe did not file state tax returns for 2009, 2010 or 2011, his last three years as the university’s head basketball coach, even after being contacted by officials. He earned more than $950,000 as the coach at North Carolina State, a radio talk show host and from Adidas endorsements in both 2009 and 2010, a revenue department investigation found. He made in excess of $659,000 from those sources in 2011 in addition to his salary from the Jazz. Coach Tyrone Corbin and the Jazz declined to comment on the case, calling it a ‘personal matter.’ When asked if he thought the case would impact Lowe’s job, Corbin said, ‘Not at all.'”