Fulmer’s involvement in the sins of the Tide
by Tony Basilio
By now, you all know the sordid story of the UT-Alabama recruiting scandal, how the University of Alabama cheated, got caught, and ginned up some self-righteous anger from boosters. Now Montgomery-based attorney Tommy Gallion, doing his best Johnnie Cochran, is trying to thwart the NCAA, exonerate the Tide (particularly former ‘Bama assistants Ronnie Cottrell and Ivey Williams), and embarrass the University of Tennessee and head football Coach Phillip Fulmer in the process.
He’ll have to settle for one out of three. In this scandal born of a once-legendary football rivalry, no one stands to win.
ESPN ran a 30-minute Outside The Lines special on the brouhaha last Sunday. Although UT wasn’t charged with any new NCAA rules violations, Gallion did succeed in dragging the university’s name through the filth of Alabama’s recruiting sins, exposing some questionable judgment by Fulmer in the process.
Gallion asserted that Fulmer turned state’s evidence against the Tide in return for the NCAA quelling an academic fraud investigation at UT. ESPN rehashed the Tutor Gate scandal from a few years back, wherein a number of student tutors furnished by the university were alleged to have written term papers or otherwise cheated for the athletes they were supposed to be helping.
The piece was unflattering toward Fulmer in several respects, not the least of which was that it portrayed the UT Head Coach as a bold-faced liar. Especially damaging was ESPN’s rehashing of a radio interview with Fulmer on the Birmingham-based Paul Finebaum Show, the timing of which reflects ill on Fulmer’s credibility.
The gist of the rest of the report was as follows: On March 9 of 2000, Fulmer met with NCAA investigator Richard Johanningmeier, and provided information fingering Memphis-based ‘Bama booster Logan Young as having a long history of paying off would-be recruits. Fulmer himself provided leads and phone numbers, and three UT assistants provided additional information. Less than two weeks later, the NCAA announced that Tennessee had been cleared in its academic fraud probe.
When he appeared on the Finebaum show a couple of months later, Fulmer was asked about Alabama’s allegedly shady recruiting practices under then-Head Coach Mike Dubose. Fulmer’s response was that he would “call Coach Dubose if (he) had any knowledge or problem with Alabama’s recruiting.” Given that this interview took place long after Fulmer had turned secret witness against the Tide, the UT skipper seems to have emerged from it with more than just egg on his face.
But not to be outdone is Gallion, a shameless self-promoter of an attorney who reminds me of Mark Garragos with a thick Southern drawl. Gallion asserted that the NCAA ran amok over the freedoms of assistants Cottrell and Williams, and that the NCAA further violated his clients’ civil liberties by blackballing them. At one point, Gallion told the ESPN reporter that, “If I had to live in a place where the NCAA’s way of conducting investigations ruled, I would rather live in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.” What hubris. What gall. What utter, incomprehensible stupidity.
By my reckoning, Phillip Fulmer did the right thing in turning in Alabama, though he went about it the wrong way. His appearance on the Finebaum show, on the other hand, was foolish, indefensible. Why did Fulmer do it? Why did he lie? Does Tommy Gallion have a soul, and will he ever find a cause worth fighting for? Will Tennessee and Alabama ever be the same? Do I really care?
Perhaps former Vol Quarterback David Rudder, one of the heroes of the 1978 Tennessee/Bama game, put it best. Said Rudder, “It’s a shame that such a wonderful series such as Tennessee and Alabama has come to this.... I’m not sure if it could ever be the same. This thing could really get ugly.”
Tune in and talk sports with "The Tony Basilio Show" each weekday from 3-6 p.m. on the network (670 WMTY-AM, 850 WKVL-AM, 1140 WLOD-AM, 1290 WATO-AM, or 1400 WGAP-AM).
March 4, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 10
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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