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Something's fishy at FSU Posted: Tuesday April 15, 2003 4:33 PM
We're not on a mission to send Bobby Bowden’s boys off to NCAA jail and, other than to catch a sporting event, we’ve never set foot on the Florida or Miami campuses. But we're not buying the self-serving stories from athletic officials about problems in the Florida State football program. Especially when we hear that the law enforcement agencies that eventually looked into the campus gambling were pressured by wealthy boosters in Tallahassee. One of those investigators, FSU campus police Sgt. Bill Wooten, just went on unscheduled leave in advance of his June retirement. There are just too many unanswered questions here. Why didn’t FSU seriously dig into the gambling rumors surrounding Adrian McPherson last summer? Why not call the police? Why not alert folks close to the program to keep their eyes open? And where was A. D. getting the coin to fund such a fancy lifestyle? This is just one man’s opinion, of course. Let’s head to the mailbag to see what you have to say about this and other topics.
I can’t escape this nagging feeling that you absolutely despise the (Florida State) program and anyone or thing associated with it. Yeah, the boy gambled when he should not have, and he will receive his punishment accordingly. But give me a break. McPherson bet on some games that I’m sure you and many of your "sportswriter" colleagues did and do every fall. It’s harmless to you, but death to anyone under 22. But that’s an NCAA (National Communist Athletic Attempt) issue.... Why don’t you put more attention towards important issues like those at Penn State or Tennessee (where players don’t take their own tests) than trying to inflame a "scandal" to boost your own rep? Brad, you have it all wrong. Some of my best friends are Seminoles (well, I think they’re still friends) and a laminated photo of Bobby Bowden and me hangs on my office wall at home. My issue is FSU’s attempt to focus the gambling question on Adrian McPherson. The way I see it, you have four football managers -- including one also accused of being a bookie -- who allegedly bet on sports. Also charged with bookmaking is an FSU graduate, who at various times roomed with a football player and baseball player. This same bookie got his parking pass from another football player. Our friendly bookie is known to hang around with FSU athletes -- and only McPherson was getting down a bet? Sorry, I’m not buying.
I lived in Orlando for nearly 20 years up till 2002. Gambling and other violations of NCAA rules are nothing new to FSU or the Gators. Instead of going after the players, why don't they go after the coaches and their motley crews? My opinion is they are fully aware of these incidents and the upper echelons of the school faculty do nothing about it. College sport isn't a game, it's big business. I suspect it’s more a case of athletic officials not wanting to know too much. In the case of Florida State, an in-house gambling investigation that ends with three interviews and no written records is no investigation at all. Hey, here’s a novel idea -- call the police the next time someone tells you that your quarterback has run up an $8,000 gambling debt.
Too bad we only hear about these types of incidents about "star players."
Further, I'd wager that McPherson isn't the only one capitalizing on his community stature or pro potential. Yet McPherson's situation is repeatedly re-hashed and updated. Please don't fault the one player, because there are a lot more. Not that I'm saying anybody (including McPherson) is right or should avoid punishment. What I am saying is there are other stories parallel to this and perhaps they should be put on (SI.com's) front page, too. Wow, I’m not sure the NCAA wants to hear about parallel stories. And it’s tough to top a QB who’s now facing almost as many charges as the number of passes he completed against N.C. State last fall.
Your article about McPherson was thorough and well reported. Your article about Chris Rix shows you have a serious vendetta and obsession with painting FSU in a bad light. Quit while you're ahead and please go get a life. Speeding tickets ... are you kidding me? Quite a quarterback duo, if you ask us. Granted, speeding tickets aren’t a felony offense, but at last check they were unpaid and state authorities were recommending his license be suspended. This is the same QB who sat out the Sugar Bowl after missing two exams. Nothing like some leadership and accountability.
I think it is interesting that your magazine elected to focus on FSU again. Not the recent Penn State scandal, not the Alabama recruiting scandal, not the recent Kentucky scandal, not the other five probation schools in the SEC. It’s interesting because FSU has never been placed on probation. Yet your writing bias is directly aimed at attacking the integrity of FSU. Why? If Bowden is responsible for the bad choices several players have made over the years, is he also directly responsible for the success stories? Using your logic, Bowden is directly responsible for the wonderful life story and charitable actions that Derrick Brooks makes in the offseason with teenagers. And, using your logic, Bowden is directly responsible for the wonderful life story and charitable actions that Warrick Dunn makes for single moms. Let’s clear up a few points. First, I’m an equal opportunity reporter when it comes to addressing scandals. And, sorry, but Florida State has served a stint on probation: The NCAA slapped them with a one-year probation in 1996 for “failure to take appropriate action in response" to the Footlocker escapade. And unless we’re mistaken, Coach Bowden regularly enjoys kudos -- and rightfully so -- for the good deeds of Brooks and Dunn.
Excuse me, but what is it with these athletes? Many of the so-called star players can't string three coherent words together to form a sentence and they have time for football or basketball practice, travel, etc.? Hardly anyone of them graduate with anything other than a degree in watching grass grow on playgrounds. ... Why don't you write an article that really tells the truth instead of the equivocating and vacillating pap that passes for the truth? Maybe you can get the NCAA to smarten up and the NBA teams to stop prostituting little high school boys for their vainglorious attempts to win a championship. Frank, we’re trying our best. You obviously haven’t paid a recent visit to Tallahassee, Tuscaloosa or Knoxville.
I'm no fan of 'Bama (only good thing ever happened there was hiring Gene Stallings as coach). But I definitely despise the NCAA. It is the Third Reich of collegiate athletics. Too bad all the colleges in America don't pull the plug. Robin, I’m sure you could find some college athletic officials who echo your sentiments about the NCAA. As for Gene Stallings, nice guy and solid coach -- but it was under his watch that Alabama first got caught breaking rules.
The vast majority of Alabama fans concede that rules were broken and that our program deserved some punishment. However, we feel that the NCAA's investigative process in our case was fatally flawed, and that Alabama's substantial self-imposed penalties should have been accepted by the NCAA, particularly in view of the fact that other member institutions are not subjected to the same harsh treatment (see the NCAA's recent ruling on Tennessee's Tee Martin/Eric Locke scandal). And other institutions have been victimized, as well. Every program that has ever been sanctioned for academic fraud should be outraged that the NCAA has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to UT professor Linda Bensel-Meyers' compelling proof of rampant academic fraud within the UT athletic department. Well, glad to hear 'Bama fans are eager to admit the football boys broke some rules. If, as accused, they funneled money to Albert Means and his high school coach, then don’t cry about the harsh treatment from the NCAA. Now, the good fortune afforded Tennessee is an entirely different issue. I’m as baffled as most by the NCAA’s lack of interest in Knoxville happenings. Linda Bensel-Meyers, in particular, is well respected as head of the academic reform Drake Group.
Every time that Alabama gets into trouble, it is a "conspiracy." They are just mad that they lost their "man" when Paul "Bear" Bryant retired and took his ability to sway NCAA heads to look the other way with him. I also believe that Tennessee is not without fault, but what school is without fault? This lawsuit (filed by a former Alabama assistant coach) is the next effort for Alabama morons to try to bring down UT. ... I find it sad though for the true Tennessee/Alabama football fan. This is, and will always be, one of the best rivalries in college football, and the people in Alabama and Tennessee with too much money and time on their hands want to destroy it. I’ll let you and your friends down in Tuscaloosa debate the virtues and power of Coach Bryant. I do agree it’s weak when wealthy alums jump into the fray, digging into their pockets and strategizing on how to get a rival in NCAA jail. And I can tell you, both sides are guilty here.
One problem is the NCAA's appearance of unequally enforcing rules. This writer e-mailed the NCAA several months ago and commented about that appearance. In fact, I asked what they could do to clean up their image. I never got a response, although I remember a statement on the Web site stating that questions would be answered. Welcome to the club, Tony. The folks in Indianapolis still haven’t figured out the PR business and, more often than not, we’ve found they’re not keen to handling tough questions.
I've had it with the argument that student athletes need to be paid. They are paid. They receive free schooling (big deal, right?), food (training
tables at most schools are outrageous), tutoring (I never had a tutor
myself), free personal training (thousands of dollars worth annually) and
guaranteed sex (I'm sure it stops after the recruiting visit, though). There
is no question that every college athlete in this country could exist on the
financial need accorded them by their own school, but they choose to believe
that they are professional athletes and spend their money accordingly. Lose
the Navigator and $1,500/month apartment and they would be surprised how far
that scholarship can go. If a young man or women feels that they are being
exploited because the schools are making money, leave school. We’ll take your word for the guarantees afford student-athletes. No, stop right there. Let’s call them what they are -- college athletes. It’s also silly to suggest the majority of athletes are driving Navigators and living large. But you might be fair to call some of these big-timers professionals, especially when CBS is coughing up $6 billion to the NCAA as a fee for televising their games.
I'm sick of all the disparaging remarks made about my city and its people. In The Sporting News 2003 Baseball Preview magazine there's a remark that "Stinkin' Canadians know nothing about baseball." As a matter of fact, Canadians do know something about baseball. We also know something about pride. Is it just that the citizens of Montreal always take the fall for the plight of the Expos and not the previous owners or Major League Baseball?
If what has transpired in Montreal over the past few years had happened in another city, could anyone honestly say that their attendance would not have sunk? From the '94 strike that killed what was our best team in years to the continuous fire sales to the dumping of Felipe Alou to the constant relocation talk, we are fed up. An excellent farm system gave us Randy Johnson, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Cliff Floyd, to name a few. They came up and dazzled, only to be sold off to cut costs. This was not just the post-World Series fire sale done by the Marlins; it happened time and time again. We feel your pain, Ian. It’s only going to hurt worse when Vladimir Guerrero bags a huge free-agent deal next winter. And you’re right that few clubs have done a nicer job in bringing talent to the majors. That said, get over it. Bud Selig needs to pull the plug on Montreal once he figures out an alternative location for your Expos.
You would not expect to open your local newspaper and get a price list of illegal drugs for sale. But that's just what you get today with betting odds when you open your local newspaper to the sports pages all over the country. Don’t want to sound prudish, but we agree. The media is routinely guilty of speaking from both sides of its mouth on this subject. But what really bugs us is the sports-talk show host who details a sports scandal -- we caught one weighing in on ex-FSU QB Adrian McPherson -- and then takes a 30-second commercial break to personally pitch an off-shore gambling site.
A few years ago, I thought Pete Rose should be reinstated because I had such
fond memories of seeing him in Wrigley Field in the early '70s. In the last few months, though, I've come to understand that for Rose to be reinstated, he must admit he betted on baseball -- as so much evidence indicates he did. Anyone who has worked with "troubled people" knows that they will not change their ways if they don't have to. If Rose is reinstated without having to admit his misdeeds, he'll be laughing at baseball. And while I will always
have those fond memories of No. 14, I could not tolerate my favorite pastime
being mocked. Jorge, here’s betting Pete Rose won’t get the last laugh. Yeah, his stock is bullish since a World Series crowd at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco greeted his introduction last October with chants of “Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame!" But you have to believe Commissioner Bud Selig won’t grant a pardon unless Rose admits having bet on baseball. Here’s hoping he comes clean and gets his day in Cooperstown. Our only beef is such admittance means that his in-your-face denials over the past decade were baldfaced lies.
I think the Masters/Augusta National debacle is a real hoot. After all, don't women know their place? All they have to do is ask the staunch Christian right -- which is neither, in my opinion -- and they will find that it is to be subservient to their “man." Stay at home, clean the house, bear children and have dinner waitin' when the menfolk come home after a hard day of work. But no, they have to get all uppity and want to play the menfolks' role and do things like be heads of state, discover radium, become astronauts and all those other things that are better left to the stronger sex. Before long, they will want to be senators and governors and doctors and lawyers in this country as well. What is the world coming to? Hey, Jack, you’re on to something -- though we’re talkin’ heavy lifting. How about caddies? Since Martha Burk hasn’t made much ground pushing female membership on Augusta National, maybe she can bring political correctness to the caddy shack. Mike Fish is a senior writer for SI.com. Comments? To e-mail Fish, click here.
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