Report: A-Rod's Foundation Donated 1 Percent Of Proceeds In '06
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There's yet another headache surrounding Yankees star Alex Rodriguez -- and this one has nothing do to with allegations of doping.
Rodriguez and rapper Jay-Z raised $403,862 in a 2006 celebrity poker tournament to benefit the A-Rod Family Foundation and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund, but only $5,090 made its way to various charities, according to the Boston Globe.
Citing Internal Revenue Service records, the Globe reported that Rodriguez's foundation "gave only 1 percent of proceeds to charity during its first year of operation in 2006, then stopped submitting mandatory financial reports to the IRS and was stripped of its tax-exempt status."
The foundation still has a website hosted on MLB.com, touting itself as "a non-profit organization dedicated to positively impacting families in distress." The news section hasn't been updated since Sept. 5, 2007.
A-Rod's reportedly mismanaged and not-so-charitable charity was exposed in the Globe's sweeping review of 50 non-profits run by professional athletes. The Globe also questioned the efficiency of foundations set up by Boston Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, Baltimore Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin, and others.
Non-profit experts say at least 65 to 75 percent of proceeds should directly benefit the organization's stated mission, according to the Globe.
"Athletes' charities are subject to many pitfalls because most of them are not trained in how to raise and distribute money, and it's difficult," Sports Philanthropy Project executive director Greg Johnson told the Globe. "A lot of them get into expensive golf tournaments and that kind of crap. They can be self-serving as hell."
Knicks star Carmelo Anthony's foundation made the "Winning formulas" list, with 87 percent of funds raised from 2008-10 going to charitable causes.
Rodriguez, recovering from offseason hip surgery, was among the players named in baseball's growing performance-enhancing drugs scandal centered around a shuttered Florida clinic, Biogenesis. He has denied any relationship with clinic head Anthony Bosch.
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