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Tuesday, January 23, 2001
UO employee calls WSU coach from bar
Associated Press
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EUGENE, Ore. -- A University of Oregon assistant sports information director
said Tuesday he felt justified in turning in six Washington State
players who broke curfew by going to a Eugene bar early Saturday
morning.
"It was absolutely the right thing to do," said Greg Walker,
who's in charge of media relations for the UO men's basketball
team. He held the same position at Washington State for the past
two seasons and is a 1992 graduate of the university.
Walker said that when he saw the players at the Rock N' Rodeo
bar, across the street from the team's hotel, he felt he had to
phone Cougars coach Paul Graham.
"I took a few minutes to deliberate the pros and cons of
notifying Coach Graham," Walker said at the Ducks' practice
Tuesday. "Out of respect for him, and having worked with him last
year and having respect for what he's trying to do there ... I put
myself in his shoes and decided I would want to know the
information.
"I'm sure most of those guys aren't very happy with me. But
they put themselves in a bad situation. They're probably not bad
kids, but they certainly made a poor decision."
The next morning, Graham suspended the six players -- including
his son, Nick -- and sent them on a flight back to Pullman. The
short-handed Cougars lost to Oregon 81-66 later that day, falling to
1-5 in the Pacific-10.
On Monday, Graham announced that Eddie Miller, a senior forward
and the team's second-leading scorer, had been kicked off the team.
It was Miller's idea to go to the bar, and Graham said he was the
only one of the six players who showed no remorse over the
incident.
Washington State apparently holds no grudges against Walker. "I
don't think there was anybody upset down here," WSU sports
information director Rod Commons said Tuesday.
Miller reportedly called the rooms of five teammates -- Graham,
Kendall Minor, Jerry McNair, Framecio Little and E.J. Harris -- and
organized the late-night junket. After the coaches checked the
rooms, the players left the Eugene Hilton and walked into the bar,
wearing their crimson and gray sweats. Three of the players -- Graham, Minor and Harris -- are under the legal drinking age of 21.
Walker, at the bar with his girlfriend, recognized one of the
players and called the Cougars' coach about 1:45 a.m. Walker said
he didn't believe he woke up Graham.
"It was a very brief conversation. I told him, 'I'm sorry to
have to tell you this, but several of your players are across the
street,' " Walker said. "He let out a sigh and said, 'OK, thanks
for calling.' That was the extent of it."
When the incident was first revealed Saturday, the caller was
identified only as a former Washington State employee. But the
Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., identified Walker by name in a
story published Tuesday.
Walker said he would have preferred to remain anonymous, but
says he would have felt worse if he'd kept quiet and some harm had
come to the players.
"If I had not said anything and those kids had gotten into
trouble later on that night, or somebody got hurt or even if they
got away with it and pulled the wool over Paul's eyes, that's not
doing anybody good," he said.
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