A former instructor at the University of Houston was convicted of stealing money from the university yesterday and sentenced to three years' probation. Who's the instructor? The same guy serving as the primary source for SI's "Houston is fucked" story alleging at least 25 improper grade changes for athletes.
The most obvious scenario here is that Houston scrutinized the books and retaliated for the whistleblowing by nailing the prof for the pittance--$1,500--he stole from the university. (From our experience at universities, there's plenty of profs stealing way more by simply being on the payroll. Call them the Peerless Prices of the academic world.)
The more interesting suggestion--one that the article, in all fairness, doesn't dodge--is that Brown is a wobbly source caught with his hand in the cookie jar.