The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 4, 1999 - 98
Haskins asked counselor to cheat
By V. Paul Virtuclo
Minnesota Daily
MINNEAPOLIS (U-Wire) -A 1986
memo written by Rick Marsden, a for-
mer athletics academic counselor with a
pending lawsuit against the University of
Minnesota, documents that Clem
Haskins asked him to write a paper for
one of his players.
According to the memo sent to Elayne
Donahue, former head of the academic
counseling unit, Haskins told Marsden:
"If someone doing a paper for an athlete
would allow him the opportunity to be
eligible to compete ... we need to do the
paper for him."
Investigators Donald Lewis and
Michael Glazier met Wednesday with
Donahue to discuss the memo during a
deposition at the office of her attorney,
Jim Lord.
"It appears (Haskins) was attempting
to direct someone to write papers for stu-
dent-athletes," Lord said. "The investiga-
tors have more and more evidence of aca-
demic fraud found at the university."
Although the memo was just recently
released by investigators and confirmed
by Donahue, it did not surprise universi-
ty officials.
It means "nothing because it's not
new' said McKinley Boston, vice presi-
dent of student development and athlet-
ics. "This has been on the table from the
very beginning?.
The 1986 memo supported allegations
Marsden made in his 1998 lawsuit
against the University. Marsden claimed
the athletics department discriminated
against him based on his sexual orienta-
tion and his depression. He sought a
court-ordered reassignment within the
university and currently works as a
University College counselor.
In response to Marsden's charges,
University attorneys issued a letter to the
counselor's attorney, deeming his claims
of a "homophobic work environment"
baseless.
"The university has no basis to believe
that Mr. Marsden's request for reassign-
ment is based on anything other than a
personality conflict with athletics man-
agement,' the Dec. 4, 1998 letter stated.
In an affidavit dated Jan. 21, nearly
two months before the men's basketball
academic fraud scandal surfaced,
Marsden testified that he was instructed
to wrte an academic paper for a student
by an unnamed basketball coach. He
refused and reported the incident to
University officials, according to the affi-
day it.
Donahue did not clearly remember
what she did with the memo after receiv-
ing it, although she thinks she passed it
on to Jim Infante, the former vice presi-
dent of student development and athletics
who preceded Boston.
"It strengthens the evidence that.
Haskins was aware it was going on," he
said.
Boston said he was not aware of the
memo, nor was he briefed by Infante
about alleged academic violations in the
men's basketball program.
In the memo, Marsden also recounted
a conversation between Haskins and
Susan Latendresse, who worked in the
men's basketball office. Haskins wanted
her to process a scholarship application
for a player who had publicly turned pro=
fessional and was therefore no longer eli-
gible. Latendresse refused.
Marsden quotes Haskins as saying
"Everyone else in the country does it
Why shouldn't we help this young mart?"
PHOTOG/E
nd here is a cutline for after the streamer. This should be two lines long as well, and should tell a bit about the photo, the
eople In it, and all that fun stuff.
fOC's Samaranch delays testimony until December
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - IOC presi-
denit Juan Antonio Samaranch said yes-
terday he can't testify this month at a
congressional hearing into Olympic bid-
ding scandals, but is willing to do so later
i he year.
amaranch said he would testify in
December after the International
Olymnpic Committee votes on a series of
reform measures.
"I'm ready to go but only in the right
moimhent," he said. "I have to go there
with some solution in my pocket."
Samaranch sent a letter to Rep. Fred
Upton, R-Mich., who had requested that
he appear at an Oct. 14 hearing into
or ses related to Atlanta's winning bid
fov the 1996 Summer Games.
Upton had threatened to subpoena
Samaranch if he declined to appear
before the House commerce subcommit-
tee on oversight #and investigation.
Samaranch declined to appear at a simi-
lar hearing in the Senate in April.
In the letter, Samaranch said the IOC
"will. fully cooperate" with Upton. But he
said he was too busy at the moment push-
in through reforms prompted by the Salt
AW . City bribery scandal.
"It.is essential that I work full time to
generate the required consensus," he
said. "My primary responsibility in these
circumstances must rest with the need to
ensure that our reforms proceed as
planned."
Samaranch said he was prepared to
appear before Upton's committee any
time after the Dec. 11-12 session where
the full IOC will vote on sweeping
reforms, including new rules on age lim-
its, terms of office and the bidding and
site selection process.
"Apart from my inability to come to
the United States earlier, this would also
provide the most suitable opportunity to
give you the best and most complete
information, not only on what went
wrong, but also and above all, on what
remedies are being put into place," the
letter said.
Samaranch, who is from Spain, said he
will need a Spanish interpreter at. the
hearing "to avoid any misunderstanding."
He also said he would welcome a visit
by Upton to IOC headquarters in
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Samaranch said he would a the two
IOC members in the United States, Anita
DeFrantz and Jim Easton, and IOC direc-
tor general Francois Carrard to testify at
the Oct. 14 hearing.
Upton has called the hearing to investi-
gate a "culture of corruption" surround-
ing Atlanta's bid.
A report submitted to Congress last
month detailed gifts, travel, favors and
offers of college scholarships and job
assistance to IOC members and their
families from the Atlanta bid team.
Upton said the report proved "votes
were for sale" and accused the IOC of
fostering a corrupt bid culture.
Upton said he wanted Samaranch to
"explain exactly how the IOC awards the
games," based on some of the "outra-
geous revelations" related to the Atlanta
bid.
The IOC's new ethics commission said
last week it would review the Atlanta
report to determine whether any IOC
members had committed improprieties.
IOC vice president Dick Pound, who
headed an inquiry that led to the expul-
sion or resignation of 10 IOC members in
the Salt Lake City scandal, said Saturday
he saw no evidence in the Atlanta report
that merited sanctions.
Samaranch declined to testify at hear-
ings called by Sen. John McCain in April
in the wake of the vote-buying scandal
stemming from Salt Lake City's winning
bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
At that time, Samaranch sent DeFrantz
to represent him. The hearing turned into
a forum for IOC bashing.
McCain has scheduled another hearing
for Oct. 20, this time on the problem of
performance-enhancing drugs in
Olympic sports.
Samaranch has not traveled to the
United States since the Salt Lake City
scandal broke late last year.
He and other IOC members could face
questioning by FBI agents investigating
the Salt Lake City scandal.
ANTI-DOPING UPDATE: Also yesterday,
the IOC executive board said it was
speeding up plans for creation of an
international anti-doping agency. The
agency will be set up by the end of this
month, rather than the end of the year as
previously projected.
The IOC said it will seek equal repre-
sentation on the agency from govern-
ments, sports bodies and athletes in order
to make it "independent and based on
consensus."
The IOC's plans have come under
harsh attack from White House drug pol-
icy adviser Barry McCaffrey, who says
the agency should be fully independent
from the IOC.
But Samaranch took a conciliatory
line, saying, "I respect (McCaffrey) very
much. I think he has taken care of the
drug problem in the U.S. If he wants one
day to cooperate with us, (the door) will
be open.",
Tyson says he'd
bite back again'.1
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mike Tyson might bite again.
The former heavyweight champion says if a referee fails
to protect him in his next bout he would be forced to take
matters into his own mouth.
"I would do it again under those circumstances"he said
in yesterday's Los Angeles Times.
Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997
title fight. He contends referee Mills Lane allowed him to
be butted, and he would react the same way if cut and
bleeding.
"I know what the reality is' he said. "Listen, I hate to
cry and I hate to sound like sour grapes, but no one ever
listens to me. No one ever hears what I have to say."
Tyson, coming off a Maryland jail sentence, fights Orlin
Norris Oct. 23 in Las Vegas and doesn't expect help from
the referee.
"If he's having a rough fight and there is some foulness
going on, the referee is going to be paralyzed and not act,"
he told the Times.
"Nobody ever has any sympathy or pity for me. In retal-
iation, I'll fight back because nobody is fighting for me. I
have to defend myself. It is just human nature to defend
yourself. I just never sold out."
In the Holyfield bout, Tyson.spit out his mouthpiece and
bit off the top of his opponent's right ear. Minutes later, he
bit Holyfield's left ear.
He lost his boxing license for 15 months and apologized
for his conduct. He returned to the ring in January, knock-
ing out Francois Botha in the fifth round.
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