How a student in the college admissions scandal got onto the UCLA soccer team without playing the sport
It looks like Lori Loughlin‘s daughters aren’t the only ones who fabricated an athletic background to get into the school of their dreams. There’s another California student who got caught up in the same college admissions scheme and faked an athletic profile to get placed onto the women’s soccer team at UCLA.
Lauren Isackson may have had a spot on the elite team’s 2017 roster, but after the recent indictment of her parents, Bruce and Davina Isackson, for their involvement in the admissions scheme run by William “Rick” Singer, people have been quick to notice that she didn’t actually bring much to the team. In fact, according to her profile on a Pac-12 website, she never even made an appearance during a game throughout her entire season.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, seeing how greatly Lauren’s bio on the UCLA Bruins roster ranges from others on the team — many of who have a long list of accolades in their sport. For Lauren, however, the most senior title in her soccer portfolio is an honorable mention all-league selection in 2014 for the West Bay Athletic League in Northern California, which is also fake. Not to mention that her greatest athletic thrill is listed as “becoming the champion of her horseback riding division two years in a row,” while her teammates mention major accomplishments on the soccer field.
According to the indictment, the Isacksons were in contact with Singer since 2015 to secure a spot for Lauren at her top choice school, USC. But after some “clerical errors,” a women’s soccer coach at USC ended up forwarding Lauren’s falsified soccer profile to the head coach of UCLA men’s soccer, Jorge Salcedo, with the note “soccer player/student manager.” Just over one month later, Lauren was approved for provisional admission in the fall.
In return, the Isacksons gave Singer’s charity $250,000 worth of Facebook stock, and a thank you email from Davina, which both Bruce and Lauren were copied on.
“I know it has been a rough ride but I thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for your persistence, creativity and commitment towards helping [our daughter],” the note read.
Lauren is not on the team’s current roster, but according to the Los Angeles Times, she is still a student at UCLA.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• The college admissions scandal, explained: ‘They knew what they were doing was illegal’
• Pot-smoking son defends parents charged in admissions scandal: ‘Everyone has a right to go to college’
• Woman sues after university allegedly retracted job offer once it learned she was pregnant
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