jimotis4heisman
Banned
I have decided to start solely based on pollice/legal issues, in light of reference on how rampid things are in cfb. this will aid in the condensed information of such things to be used later.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/01/23/bc.fbc.neuheiseltrial.ap/index.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/01/23/bc.fbc.neuheiseltrial.ap/index.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/01/23/bc.fbc.recruitingscanda.ap/index.htmlDay finally comes
Former UW football coach gets his day in court
Posted: Sunday January 23, 2005 1:06PM; Updated: Monday January 24, 2005 5:12PM
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SEATTLE (AP) -- Rick Neuheisel finally gets his day in court.
The former Washington football coach has waited 17 months for his trial against the NCAA and his ex-employer, firmly believing he will be vindicated after the facts are presented.
<!--startclickprintexclude-->"Rick Neuheisel was wrongly fired by the university as a pretext amid an effort to appease the NCAA," plaintiff's attorney Bob Sulkin said, summarizing his approach to the expected 4-week trial.
University officials are equally confident, saying it was "sad and painful" to dismiss Neuheisel but warranted because the coach wasn't fully honest with NCAA investigators when asked about his high-stakes gambling.
"The university's position has been consistent from the start," university lawyer Lou Peterson said. "Rick Neuheisel agreed to a contract where he could be discharged for acts of dishonesty."
Proceedings began Monday in King County Superior Court, though opening arguments aren't scheduled until Jan. 31.
"I'm eager for it to begin and for the facts to come out," Neuheisel told The Associated Press last month.
Neuheisel also claims the NCAA improperly meddled in his employment by pressuring Washington administrators to fire him. An NCAA investigation ultimately imposed no sanctions against the coach.
"We look forward to explaining our side in court, as well," said NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson.
The lawsuit involves big money, gambling on college sports, lies and accusations of mismanagement. After 18 messy months of bickering, all the dirty laundry should come out in court.
At times, it could strike with sensational force.
NCAA president Myles Brand and NCAA gambling director Bill Saum are among those expected to testify, along with former Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges, former university president Lee Huntsman and Neuheisel himself.
There's a lot of money at stake, too.
Jurors will decide if the coach should receive about $6 million remaining on his contract when he was fired, and he'll have to repay a $1.5 million university loan if jurors determine his firing was justified.
The trial's first week will include jury selection and pretrial motions. Judge Michael Spearman will consider such matters as the scope of evidence admitted and the length of the witness list.
Through his attorney, Neuheisel declined an interview request. As a witness, he's not likely to say much publicly during the proceedings.
A key piece of evidence is a tape recording of Neuheisel's meeting with NCAA investigators on June 4, 2003.
On the tape, which the university released to reporters on the same day Neuheisel filed suit in August 2003, the coach denied involvement with a high-stakes gambling pool in his wealthy Seattle-area neighborhood.
"I never placed a bet on anything," Neuheisel said early in the tape.
Later that day, he acknowledged taking part in an auction-style NCAA basketball pool, but said he didn't consider it illegal gambling. Sulkin has said Neuheisel cooperated with investigators after speaking to an attorney.
The NCAA bans all gambling by coaches, players and athletic department staff at member institutions. Neuheisel admitted winning more than $12,000 in two years of pools on NCAA basketball.
"Investigators from our national office were carrying out the will of member institutions: to investigate allegations of misconduct," Christianson said.
Last week, Spearman threw out Neuheisel's defamation claim against the NCAA but allowed the rest of the lawsuit to go forward.
The university initiated Neuheisel's firing on June 12, 2003. It took effect six weeks later after his appeals were exhausted.
It's expected the university will pin its defense on Neuheisel's contract, which stated he could be fired for acts of dishonesty. Administrators fired him with cause, meaning he was awarded no money.
"We're happy to let a jury decide about the conduct of the University of Washington, and confident that a fair trial will result," Sulkin said. "Rick is looking forward to telling his side of the story."
Last fall, the NCAA's infractions committee determined that Neuheisel broke rules against gambling but didn't penalize him because a staff e-mail issued by a former Washington compliance officer had improperly approved gambling in off-campus NCAA basketball pools.
"If not for the erroneous e-mail, the outcome might have been different," Christianson said.
After his firing, Neuheisel served as a volunteer assistant at a Seattle high school and worked as an analyst for College Sports Television. This month, he was hired as quarterbacks coach by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.
"Rick is in very good spirits," Sulkin said. "He's very excited about his new job. He's working for a great organization and very excited about the opportunity."
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/01/25/41f5dac7c1e3bIn the spotlight
Trial begins for man at center of recruiting scandal
Posted: Sunday January 23, 2005 1:38PM; Updated: Monday January 24, 2005 9:19PM
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A wealthy businessman at the center of a football recruiting scandal bragged to friends he was the reason a top high school player signed with Alabama, a federal prosecutor said Monday.
But the lead defense lawyer for businessman Logan Young said the government's evidence against his client is weak and its chief witness is a liar.
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Young is charged with paying former high school coach Lynn Lang $150,000 to get defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with Alabama in 2000.
An NCAA investigation, which included a look into Means' recruitment, led to sanctions against the Crimson Tide in 2002.
Young was a longtime Alabama booster when Means made his choice of a college. Since then, the university has broken its ties with Young.
In his opening statement to the trial jury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Godwin said Young bragged that "he's mine" when talking about which college Means would attend.
"This case is about the buying and selling of a young man," Godwin said.
Lang, who has admitted taking a bribe to send Means to Alabama, will testify for the prosecution, Godwin said. He has not been sentenced.
But defense attorney James Neal told the jury of seven women and five men that Lang cannot be believed.
For months before pleading guilty to a racketeering charge, he professed innocence, Neal said, telling government investigators, Memphis school officials and news reporters that he knew nothing about a payoff.
"In order to convict Logan Young of anything, you have got to believe Lynn Lang," Neal said.
Godwin said records will show Young made numerous bank withdrawals about the time Lang was making deposits. Many of those transactions were just under the $10,000 threshold required for reporting them to banking regulators, he said.
At a time when Lang was making less than $30,000 a year, he put more than $47,000 in his bank account and bought a sports car, Godwin said.
"Follow the money," he told the jury.
Neal said former Memphis coach Rip Scherer and former Alabama assistant Ivy Williams will be called as defense witnesses. Lang has said he was referred to Young by Williams.
In his indictment, Lang was accused of shopping Means around to other schools, including Memphis.
Young is charged with conspiring to bribe a public servant, crossing state lines in a racketeering conspiracy and setting up bank transactions to hide a crime.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars, but federal guidelines would call for a much lighter sentence upon conviction.
Means attended Alabama for one year before transferring to Memphis where he recently completed his football eligibility.
Authorities say he knew nothing about a payoff.
http://www.ctnow.com/sports/hc-colfoot0123.artjan23,1,4619770.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2005/01/22/a5c_fbcru_0122.html
