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Report: Player's college choice sold
Updated: Friday January 12, 2001 4:15 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CNNSI.com) -- Alabama freshman Albert Means unknowingly had his college choice sold for $200,000, one of his high school assistant coaches told the Memphis Commercial Appeal for Wednesday's editions. Milton Kirk, a former coach at Trezevant High School in Memphis, told the newspaper that he helped Trezevant head coach Lynn Lang orchestrate a deal during Means' senior year to bring the coaching staff benefits for delivering the All-America defensive lineman to a particular school. Kirk told the newspaper that the 6-foot-6, 300-pound player was unaware of the negotiations for his signature on a letter of intent. Kirk, who his now coaching at a different Memphis high school, said he told Means of the arrangement for the first time during the Christmas holidays a few weeks ago, and that only Lang had received anything in the deal. "Two-hundred thousand dollars cash. That was the number. And [Lang] got it," said Kirk.
"It's totally false," Lang said. "It if sounds too good to be true, it is. [Kirk will] definitely be hearing from my lawyers." Alabama fired head coach Mike DuBose after the 2000 season, and replaced him with TCU coach Dennis Franchione. Wednesday, Franchione told CNNSI.com that he was waiting for more details on the story. "Let's not make too much of this," said Franchione, who is in Atlanta for the American Football Coaches Association's annual convention. "It just sounds like a lot of people throwing around allegations. It doesn't mean they are true. "The person I feel sorry for is Albert Means." Gene Marsh, Alabama's faculty representative for athletics, told The Associated Press the accusations are part of the NCAA's probe of the school's football program."We've been working on this for several weeks, along with the NCAA, since December," Marsh said. "It's not out of the blue. The allegations have been known to us and the NCAA for several months. We've done a number of interviews." According to Kirk, the two coaches formulated a plan to demand compensation for their star player's signature on a letter of intent during the summer of 1999, when Means was about to begin his senior season at Trezevant. Kirk told the Commercial Appeal that the two coaches would ask for two vehicles -- preferably Ford Expeditions -- and a total of $100,000 cash from whichever school signed Means. "The recruiters would come in, and [Lang] would present the deal," Kirk said. "Everybody was not presented, of course. Everybody did not have an opportunity -- just the schools [Lang] thought were the most interested and the ones who could afford it. "Once they got the deal, they would take it back to their people, and that's when the boosters would get involved." Kirk told the newspaper he was present when Lang offered the deal, in separate meetings, to coaches from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan State and Mississippi State. A representative of one of those schools, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the Commercial Appeal on Tuesday that he was asked for two vehicles and $100,000. Kirk said the pair's proposal was accepted in the fall of 1999, but they decided to change the deal to $200,000 cash, with no vehicles involved. Kirk said Alabama was the only school willing to pay the requested price, so Lang directed Means to sign with the Crimson Tide. "[Lang] had the kid and his mom's 100 percent confidence," Kirk said. "He told him, 'You're going to Alabama.'" As of late Tuesday, Means was expected to withdraw from school in Tuscaloosa and explore his transfer options, with former Memphis coach Rip Scherer serving as a consultant. Alabama is being investigated by the NCAA for possible rules violations. Kirk told the Commercial Appeal he had been interviewed by an NCAA investigator and told him the story of Means' recruitment in early December. Kirk said he was not motivated to come forward with the story because of "sour grapes" over not receiving his alleged cut. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about it," Kirk told the newspaper. "This is a story that needs to be told. "[Means is] unhappy and he's upset. Can you blame him?" Attempts by the Commercial Appeal to reach Means on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
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