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 Add Skip to the list Former UCLA RB Hicks held permit for 18 months
Posted: Wednesday July 21, 1999 05:07 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former UCLA running back Skip Hicks reportedly had a handicapped parking permit two years ago, when he scored a school-record 26 touchdowns and gained 1,282 yards for the Bruins. About to start his second year with the Washington Redskins, Hicks was issued three of the handicapped parking placards over the period from December 1996 to June 1998, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records cited Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times. Hicks has a history of knee problems, but was healthy as a senior in 1997, when he carried the ball 258 times and averaged nearly 5 yards per attempt. The DMV report did not indicate the nature of the injury or illness that Hicks claimed entitled him to the placard. A telephone message for Hicks' agent, Howard Silber, was not immediately returned Wednesday. Fourteen current and former Bruin football players have been charged with misdemeanor counts of illegally possessing the placards. Authorities contend they obtained the permits by submitting applications with phony illnesses certified by fictional doctors. If convicted, they would face up to $1,000 in fines and six months in jail. Hicks was not among those charged. Nor were Cade McNown or Larry Atkins, who completed their UCLA careers last season. McNown, an All-American quarterback as a senior, was a first-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears, while Atkins, a safety, was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Orange County Register reported Tuesday that Atkins, a UCLA second-team All-American defensive back, had a handicapped placard in the spring of 1997. McNown had the permit from February through mid-June 1997, shortly after his sophomore season. McNown was quoted Tuesday in the Chicago Tribune as saying he was injured during winter conditioning. "I didn't use it [the placard] for more than two weeks, and then I hung it up," he said. "And I don't think I ever parked in handicapped spaces. I can count on one hand the number of times I used it at all. "Mentioning it at the same time [as the stories regarding his 14 teammates] is not right. For lack of better words, I've been defamed." UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins declined to answer questions concerning placards assigned to Hicks, Atkins or McNown.
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