Monday, October 15, 2007

Trying to make sense of things.

Frankly, I don't have the energy for this right now. Will IU basketball ever be fun again? I'm relying on a transcript that seems to be premium context on Peegs, so I'm not going to post any quotes. But let's try to figure out what we know:
  • Ten three way calls. Sampson was dialed in on three way calls by assistant coach Rob Senderoff. On all but one of these calls, Sampson claims that he did not know they were three way calls. On one occasion, Sampson did know. Under NCAA rules, three way calls are permissible, but under the NCAA sanctions imposed because of misconduct at Oklahoma, Sampson was not permitted to call recruits. He could receive calls. Based on what he said, Sampson has cell phone reception problems at his house, and sometimes recruits could not get through to him. When they called Senderoff, Senderoff would call Sampson, and Sampson would pick up and begin talking to the kids.
  • IU received some sort of intermediate opinion about the propriety of three way calls. Associate AD Grace Calhoun apparently mentioned during the call that IU had received an interpretation from the NCAA that three way calls were impermissible. What wasn't clear was when IU received that information. As soon as the sanctions were imposed? During the investigation? Certainly, when IU received this information and when IU passed the information on to Sampson and his staff makes a difference.
  • There are additional violations. Apparently, IU asked for and received the home phone records of IU assistants. Those records revealed some sort of impermissible calls, but it's not clear why they were impermissible.

If you want emoting, there are plenty of places on the Internet to find it. For now, I'm going to digest it all before I make any sort of conclusions. It is quite unfortunate and troubling that IU has not posted any news release or transcript of the phone conference on the website--or at least, not in any place conspicuous enough for me to find it. I also think IU needs to release the reports prepared by Ice Miller. If it's necessary to redact some names and identifying information, that's fine. The IU officials who participated in the conference call are experts in the passive voice. I don't want to be spun. I want to see the information, take a look at the timing and details, and make my own conclusions. Eighteen months ago, the IU administration asked us to put our faith in a coach with a less-than-pristine past. For the most part, we have, and here we are again. You owe us the truth and the whole truth, Mr. Greenspan.

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