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TUESDAY
March 11, 2003
Vol. 110, No. 124 | Athens, Georgia
Partly cloudy.
High 63 | Low 44 | Wednesday 71
ONLINE: www.redandblack.com
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
PUZZLING PIECES
>• Loch Johnson spoke
of war time intelligence
methods. PAGE 2
COLE ACCUSATIONS
Bulldogs’ future in
dan McLaughlin i the red & black
a Athletics Director Vince Dooley, left, and University President Michael Adams held a
joint press conference Monday afternoon announcing that the men’s basketball team
would not participate in the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Dooley also announced head
coach Jim Harrick is suspended with pay until further investigation.
Georgia suspends
Harrick withpay
By BRADLEY HANDWERGER
bhandwerg@randb.com
A week-and-a-half of what-ifs
has led to the suspension of
Georgia head basketball coach
Jim Harrick Sr. and the exclusion
of the University of Georgia men’s
basketball team from postseason
play.
In addition, two players, junior
guard Rashad Wright and junior
forward Chris Daniels, have been
ruled ineligible.
Georgia Athletics Director
Vince Dooley and University
President Michael Adams said
Monday that Harrick Sr. has been
suspended with pay pending fur
ther investigation into alleged
NCAA violations.
“We found further information
that now confirms there was aca
demic fraud in that one course,”
Dooley said at a news conference
at the Administration Building
Monday afternoon.
“Additional information now
has been forwarded to where
unethical conduct has been
charged — two of the most seri
ous findings that’s involved with
the NCAA and because of the
seriousness of that, we agreed
that our basketball team should
not participate in the SEC tour
nament or the NCAA tourna
ment,” Dooley said.
“Part of the unethical conduct
concern has resulted in today my
declaring ineligible for competi
tion two basketball players, Chris
Daniels and Rashad Wright.”
Dooley said Wright and Daniels
will have a chance to regain their
eligibility for next season.
The course Dooley spoke of
was a basketball coaching class
taught by former assistant coach
Jim Harrick Jr.
Adams said the University has
taught “over a couple thousand
sections of classes this year.” He
said this was the only class that
was found to have been in viola
tion of any rules.
Georgia, ranked No. 21 in the
latest Associated Press poll, fin
ished the regular season Sunday
with a 60-55 win over South
Carolina to improve to 19-8 and
11-5 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs were set to play
Arkansas in the first round of the
SEC tournament Thursday night.
The team also was bound for a
third-straight NCAA tournament
— for the first time in school
history.
The most important thing to
Adams, though, is the academic
integrity of the University.
“Sports is really a very nice,
usually, sideline to our main func
tion here,” Adams said. “The
main issue to me is to ensure you
deal with the academic integrity.”
When asked if Harrick Sr.
would return to coach next year’s
team, Adams said he couldn’t
speculate right now.
“This thing continues to move
and take twists and turns that I
can’t predict,” Adams said. “That
will ultimately be a decision of
Coach Dooley’s. I don’t know that
either one of us are prepared to
speak to that right now.”
All of this follows a trend in
college basketball where schools
are taking pre-emptive action to
stave off NCAA penalties.
St. Bonaventure, a private
Catholic university near Buffalo,
N.Y., forfeited six games, boy
cotted two others and had its
president resign this past week,
amid allegations of misconduct
by the school’s basketball pro
gram.
Villanova, a university in
Philadelphia, recently suspended
12 players for making phone calls
with a school phone card.
At Georgia, Dooley said his
decision to just suspend Harrick
Sr. and not fire him was made
because of the “seriousness of the
findings of academic fraud and
unethical conduct, which are car
dinal findings and concerns.”
“Coach Harrick is not directly
involved in any of this, that we see
at this time,” Dooley said. “In
light of that, we thought it was
proper to suspend him.”
As for the suspension of Wright
and Daniels and not participating
in the postseason tournaments,
Dooley said: “Because of the seri
ousness, again, of the findings, we
felt like we needed to be proactive
in responding as an institution.
“So we agreed that we should
step forward and hopefully, that
will show ... what we believe
strongly about the rules and regu
lations and the seriousness of the
findings.”
Adams said the University’s
actions were appropriate.
“Some may consider it exces
sive,” he said. “At this point in
time, we believe, in relative to the
integrity and reputation to the
university and all its student ath
letes ... that this is an appropriate
action.”
Harrick Sr.’s contract has a
clause that states his job
includes: “complying with, apply
ing, and enforcing NCAA, SEC,
and University policies, rules, and
regulations through appropriate
disciplinary or corrective action,
including but not limited to, sus
pension, suspension without
pay, and termination.”
>- See HARRICK, Page 6
doubt
Players upset over
lack of communication
By BRADLEY HANDWERGER
bhandwerg@randb.com
Following the announcement that the
Georgia men’s basketball team wouldn’t be
playing in any postseason tournaments and that
head coach Jim Harrick Sr. was suspended with
pay, the players were outraged.
The outrage, however, came not just from the
abrupt ending of the season, but from the lack
of communication during an event-filled
Monday afternoon.
“I was really upset we weren’t given a phone
call from the Athletics Director or from
(University President Michael) Adams himself,”
said Richard Wehunt, a senior guard from
Hoschton, Ga. “(Adams) explained that it was
just a breakdown in communication.”
At least two people, including Wehunt, said
they heard the news not from an official with the
University or the Athletic Association, but from
the TV
“I got a phone call from my roommate’s girl
friend telling me Harrick Sr. was going to be
fired,” Wehunt said. “Then I hear (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reporter Mark) Schlabach
on ESPN radio saying Harrick was fired and we
were ending our season.”
An employee of the Athletic Association said
the same thing.
“About 4 p.m., I heard that Harrick had first
been fired,” said the employee, who found out
from TV “Then I found out that he was sus
pended and then I found out we weren’t going
to go to the SEC and we weren’t going to be able
to go to the NCAA’s. It was kinda like pandemo
nium because nobody knew what was going on.”
>• See REACTION, Page 6
ANALYSIS
Future of program will
be affected by controversy
By STEVE SANDERS
ssanders@randb.com
With the suspension of head coach Jim
Harrick Sr. and the declaration of post-season
forfeiture Monday, the immediate impact on
Georgia’s basketball program is obvious.
No banners. No credit. No anything, except a
bad reputation at the state’s flagship
institution.
Four years of “hard work” seemingly wiped
out in 11 days.
This scandal undoubtedly hurts Georgia now,
but the long-term effects may be just as bad —
or worse.
The real damage may be yet to come.
This stain has likely already affected the
program’s future in the form of recruiting,
maybe not officially yet, but in the heads of
every Bulldog prospect on the list.
Monday’s announcement from Athletics
Director Vince Dooley and University President
Michael Adams could have, and probably did,
make a lot of other schools’ programs seem a lit
tle more enticing to budding high school stars.
>- See EFFECTS, Page 6
University students have mixed reactions to Harrick’s suspension, but none are surprised by it
By JESSICA LEE REECE
jreece@randb.com
The allegations surrounding the
University’s basketball program con
tinue to “twist and turn,” said
University President Michael Adams.
Students expressed frustration
following the suspension of Georgia’s
head basketball coach, Jim Harrick
Sr. and two key players, juniors
Rashad Wright and Chris Daniels.
Students said they were angry.
Students questioned the fairness
of the decision.
But none were surprised.
“It was probably the right thing to
do before the NCAA punishes us,”
said Austin Jackson, a sophomore
from Augusta and a season
ticket holder. “We’re kind of
pre-emptively punishing ourselves.”
Jason Turner, a junior from
Bowdon, said he wasn’t expecting
the team to be removed from post
season play, but he understands the
decision.
“It’s a good way of saying we don’t
want to put up with this,” Turner
said. “(The program) is just going to
pieces.”
Turner said Harrick Sr.’s suspen
sion goes against the principle of
innocent until proven guilty, yet he
wasn’t surprised.
Michael Chasteen, a senior from
Atlanta who won the “Shoot for
Tuition” contest at the March 4
game against Florida, said he doesn’t
think Harrick will see another sea
son.
“The suspension is just a cover-
up,” he said. “He’ll be fired
eventually.”
One student said he thought the
decision was premature.
“In essence, they’re hurting the
conference and the NCAA tourna
ment in the long term by allowing a
less qualified team to play,” said
Travonte Wilson, a senior from
Macon.
“If (Harrick’s) able to be punished
for the actions under him, so should
Vince Dooley and Michael Adams,”
he said. “To sum it all up, it’s a way
to get the pressure off their backs.”
Some students remained sup
portive of the head coach.
“Right now I still support
Harrick,” said Jason Tweedell, a
freshman from Athens. “If we fired
Harrick, that’s one thing. But sus
pending him with pay? What are we
suspending him from?”
Following the press conference
Tweedell expressed his true
feelings.
He turned and yelled to his friend.
“Hey Mike, this is bulls**t!”
MEGAN NADOLSKI | The Red £ Black
▲ Georgia head basketball coach Jim Harrick
answers press questions before practice on
Friday afternoon. Harrick said the University and
the NCAA “would find nothing.”
COLE ACCUSATIONS TIME LINE
Thursday, Feb. 27:
► Former Georgia basket
ball player Tony Cole tells
ESPN that assistant coach
Jim Harrick Jr. violated NCAA
policy several times while
Cole played for Georgia. His
charges included that Harrick
Jr.:
- gave him an “A” in a
course on basketball coach
ing he never attended.
- arranged for someone
to complete correspondence work in Cole’s place for two
courses at a community college in Illinois.
- paid three of Cole’s hotel bills in Athens.
Friday, Feb. 28:
► Jim Harrick Jr. is suspended with pay by Athletics
Director Vince Dooley, pending an investigation.
► Harrick Sr. closes basketball practice to the media for
the first time since his arrival at Georgia.
► Athletics Director Vince Dooley and University
President Michael Adams seek counsel with SEC
Commissioner Mike Slive and Ed Tolley, legal adviser to
the Athletic Association. Adams declares a joint-investi
gation into Cole’s accusations, including the NCAA, the
SEC, University legal affairs executive director Steve
Shewmaker and Tolley.
Sunday March, 2:
>- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Cole adds
the following charges:
- Harrick Sr. gave him his credit card to purchase a
28-inch color television from an Athens Circuit City.
- Georgia basketball players still on the team also
have received benefits that would count as NCAA
violations.
>- The Georgia basketball team loses to Kentucky, 66-
74, amidst the allegations.
Monday, March 3:
>- ESPN reports that the University of Rhode Island is
investigating Harrick Sr. and Harrick Jr. for possible rules
violations when they coached at URL
>- Rashad Wright and Chris Daniels questioned by the
NCAA before practice.
Tuesday, March 4:
>- URI booster admitted he provided the money that
Harrick Jr. wired to Cole to pay his phone bill.
>- Harrick Sr. denies all allegations in a televised inter
view with Dick Vitale.
>- Georgia defeats Florida 82-81.
Wednesday, March 5:
>- University announces Harrick Jr.’s contract will not be
renewed.
Saturday, March 8:
>- Athens-Clarke County announced there was a warrant
for Cole’s arrest for writing a bad rent check to College
Park apartments for $578.
>- Further allegations from Harrick Sr.’s tenure at URI
were disclosed from URI secretary Christine King’s law
suit against URI.
Sunday, March 9:
>- Georgia defeats South Carolina 60-55 in overtime.
Monday, March 10:
>- University President Michael Adams and Athletics
Director Vince Dooley announced the suspension of
Harrick Sr. and the ineligibility of juniors Rashad Wright
and Chris Daniels due to “academic fraud.”
— compiled by Dan Tomayko and
Hilary Hillard
COLE
News: 2 | Opinions: 4 | Variety: 3 | Sports: 6
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