Ex-player grinds ax vs. UGA

Cole says Harrick Jr. paid bills, took his classes

ATLANTA (AP) -- Former Georgia player Tony Cole has accused current assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr. of paying his expenses and committing academic fraud before and after Cole enrolled in school.

Cole was suspended after 16 games last season when he faced sexual assault charges, but even after the charges were dropped, he wasn't reinstated.

In an interview with ESPN that aired Thursday night, Cole said Harrick paid $300 for a phone bill that Cole ran up while staying with the mother of a friend during the summer of 2001. That was just before Cole came to Georgia.

Eva Harris, the person whom Cole stayed with, said a man who gave his name as Jim Harrick called her and offered to pay any expenses she incurred while Cole was there. When the phone bill came, the money was sent to pay for it, she said.

A receipt from Western Union showed the sender as "Jim Harrick."

"He said he would take care of the phone bill, so I wouldn't have the added expense," Harris told ESPN.

Later, when his enrollment was delayed, Cole stayed in area hotels for about two weeks, running up about $1,700 in charges. He said Harrick paid the bills.

Athletic department spokesman Tim Hix said school employees had been advised not to talk about Cole since he has criminal charges pending. He was arrested in December for trespassing after he refused to leave the weight room in the Ramsey Student Center, and he has since dropped out of school.

In a written statement released just hours after Cole's ESPN interview, Athletics Director Vince Dooley said he takes allegations of NCAA violations "very seriously."

He added that "Tony Cole has been asked on previous occasions if he had received anything that could be considered extra benefits and a document has been signed by him indicating that he had not."

Cole said Harrick took two correspondence courses for him from Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois, receiving "A's" for both. When Cole earlier took the classes himself at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., he made "D's."

"I never even seen the work," Cole told ESPN. "All I asked was that my grade be a 'B'. Jim Harrick Jr. did it. He had to. I know I didn't do it."

During his first semester at Georgia, Cole took a class on the principles of coaching basketball. The class was taught by Harrick, and Cole said he received an "A" even though he never attended.

Cole couldn't be reached for comment by The Associated Press, but his attorney, Steve Sadow, said his client spoke out now because his career at Georgia is over.

"Tony believes he has been mistreated by the University of Georgia sports program," Sadow told the AP. "Since he doesn't have the opportunity to play there anymore, he saw no reason to keep quiet."

Before coming to Georgia, Cole attended at least five high school and five junior colleges. He'd run into trouble before the sexual assault charges; a lawsuit filed last year by two former students of Community College of Rhode Island accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

Those alleged incidents took place from December 1999 to February 2000.

When asked why someone with Cole's background should be believed, Sadow said, "Because he's telling the truth."

"This is what he has told me from day one. He thought once this whole false rape mess was cleaned up, he would get an opportunity to play. That didn't happen," Sadow said.

Harrick has been on the staff at Georgia for nearly two years under his father. Athletic director Vince Dooley helped arrange the younger Harrick's 's hiring even though the school has an anti-nepotism rule that generally prevents employees from working under relatives.

Officially, Harrick Jr.'s job is split between the basketball team and the Georgia Athletic Association development office.

Jim Harrick won a national championship at UCLA in 1995, then was fired following the next season for lying about an expense report. He's in his fourth season with the Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 21 in the latest AP poll.

 

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