TACOMA, Wash. -- A former University of Washington physician accused of stockpiling medicine for the softball team and handing out drugs to athletes is now denying the charges after initially admitting he dispensed painkillers and other medications without first examining the athletes.

Lawyers for Dr. William Scheyer, 76, of Kirkland filed a formal denial with the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission last week.

In September, Scheyer granted health investigators a five-hour interview and signed a statement attesting to the details that made up the state's charges. He did not have lawyers at the time.

The state Health Department charged the Kirkland doctor with inappropriate conduct when it suspended his medical license Oct. 16.

Investigators allege that, during the last three years, Scheyer wrote prescriptions for more than 5,000 doses of painkillers, sedatives, tranquilizers and steroids in the names of a softball player, a UW athletic trainer and a trainer for USA Softball.

Teresa Wilson, who built the UW softball program from scratch into a national powerhouse, was dismissed as coach Dec. 19 by athletic director Barbara Hedges in the most significant fallout so far from the scandal involving allegations against Scheyer. Wilson was reassigned, and her contract will not be renewed when it runs out in June.

Scheyer's lawyers have asked for an opportunity for settlement and a hearing before the medical commission to defend Scheyer against the allegations.

"Dr. Scheyer is very eager to give the commission the complete picture of his role as team physician, where he worked in close coordination with the university's medical and administrative staff. We plan to show the commission that his actions were consistent with the standard of care provided by other physicians working with athletic teams at the UW," Katharine Brindley, one of Scheyer's attorneys, said in a written statement Monday.

Brindley did not address Scheyer's earlier statements to state health investigators.

Norm Arkans, special assistant to UW President Lee Huntsman, said he would reserve judgment on Scheyer's recent denials.

"There has been information about practices not in keeping with the protocol we have established. If new facts or different things come to light, I think we have to judge those when they come out," Arkans said.

If the state determines that Scheyer acted improperly, the doctor could lose his medical license and face fines.

The State Patrol and federal Drug Enforcement Administration also are investigating Scheyer's prescription practices, and he might face criminal charges.

The university is conducting its own investigation of Scheyer's tenure at UW, where he served as a volunteer physician for several teams from 1986 until 1999, then exclusively for the softball team until last summer.

In a 15-page report released to the media under public disclosure laws Monday, Wilson defended Scheyer as caring and accessible. Wilson believed her UW players weren't getting adequate medical attention from UW's own sports medicine physicians and turned to Scheyer when university doctors were unavailable, she said.

Edward Matsuwaka, a Seattle pharmacist from whom the state alleges Scheyer received most of the prescription medication, also formally has denied charges of inappropriate conduct.