I'm still in shock at what I did. I have to come to terms with what I did.
There's no excuse. It was so stupid, I can't believe I did it.''36 Some players denounced McSorley for the attack. Canucks left wing Brad May said, ''We couldn't believe what we saw and we didn't know what to do.
It was crazy out there. I have no respect for that guy ever again. Anybody who has ever had respect for him should lose it.''37 Others stood up for McSorley.
Vancouver captain Mark Messier, a former teammate of McSorley's on the Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup teams, said, ''Marty has always been an honest player. He has always been a tough player and he's always played the game hard and played the game tough.''38 Keith Primeau of the Philadelphia Flyers noted that he believes the players do have a code of conduct and generally police themselves.
McSorley was suspended for one calendar year. Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said he had no interest in re-signing McSorley after the incident.
McSorley was free to sign with any other team immediately, but could not play until February 21, 2001. Whether criminal law should pursue the case was a matter of considerable debate. Canucks general manager Brian Burke said he didn't believe the police should be involved. Even representatives from other professional sports weighed in on the topic. Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace commented, ''Every time a guy uses the crown of his helmet in the NFL, now the police will be involved? You get a red card in soccer and the police will be involved? Not that what McSorley did is excusable, because it's not. But the games are better off when they're policed by us.''39 Some experts concurred, maintaining the law should only be involved when the league proves to be unwilling or incapable of handling the situation. Others supported criminal prosecution. Dan Doyle, executive director of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island, explained why the McSorley case warranted external investigation. ''The difference in [the McSorley] incident is that the other guy didn't have a chance to get out of the way. And I think there is a difference when a person is, in effect, defenseless.''40 McSorley was convicted of assault with a weapon in a Canadian court. He faced possible jail time, but was sentenced to eighteen months probation.
Prior to McSorley's attack on Brashear, the longest suspension the NHL had ever imposed for an on-ice hit was in 1993. Washington Capital Dale Hunter received a twenty-one-game suspension for a blind-side check on New York Islander Pierre Turgeon after a playoff goal. Police had previously been involved in on-ice conflicts. In 1970 Wayne Maki of the St. Louis Blues and Ted Green of the Boston Bruins were charged with assault for an incident in a 1969 preseason game. Both were acquitted. In 1988 Minnesota Wild's Dino Cicarelli was fined $1,000 and spent one night in jail after hitting Luke Richardson several times in the head with his stick. Studies of baseball and basketball have shown that punitive action serves to deter further incidents of fighting in professional sports. Clearly, the significance of the case is that McSorley received the lengthiest suspension for on-ice violence to date, a signal to athletes that perhaps there are some actions that are not acceptable as part of their sport.
RAY LEWIS ACCUSED IN MURDER TRIAL
On January 31, 2000, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and his entourage were involved in a bloody melee at a post-Super Bowl party in Atlanta. As his crew left a nightclub in the wee hours of the morning, they had an altercation that erupted into a street fight. By the time it ended, two men, Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, were dead from stab wounds. In the ensuing chaos, Lewis and his friends jumped into an awaiting limousine and fled. Lewis was charged with two counts of murder and four other felony counts.
Also charged were two members of his entourage, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting. As the criminal case progressed, it became apparent that a guilty verdict against Lewis was highly unlikely, as there was scant, if any, evidence to suggest that he had stabbed anyone. In an effort to ensure a conviction, prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with Lewis that required him to testify against the other two defendants. At the time of the plea agreement, Irwin R. Kramer, a Baltimore defense attorney who was following the case, noted that the ''prosecution is starting to run out of gas, and it doesn't seem like they had much in the tank in the first place.''41
Lewis pleaded to a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge and was sentenced to a year of probation. His testimony against Sweeting included the claim that he brandished a knife in the limousine and said, ''Every time they hit me, I hit them,'' as he made punching motions.42 Regardless of Lewis's testimony, both defendants were acquitted of all charges and nobody else was ever tried or convicted for the murders.
Evidence presented in the case prior to the plea agreement suggested Lewis possibly had a role in a cover-up. His limousine driver admitted on the stand that Lewis had told the others to keep quiet about what happened. Evelyn Sparks, who was in the limousine, testifled that she saw another passenger dump a white laundry bag into a garbage bin at a fast food restaurant. Prosecutors were convinced it contained Lewis's bloodstained white suit, which was never recovered. Lewis's lawyer, Ed Garland, maintained that Lewis's only crime was to tell his companions to keep their mouths shut and that he gave an incomplete statement to police.
Lewis returned to the Baltimore Ravens, where he was playing under a four-year contract worth $26 million, reflecting his status as a top defensive player in the league. He was fined $250,000 by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue for conduct ''detrimental to the league.'' In a letter to Lewis, from which the NFL released excerpts, Tagliabue wrote, ''When an NFL player engages in and admits to misconduct of the type to which Mr. Lewis has pled here, the biggest losers are thousands of other NFL players, present, past, and future.''43 He was taken to task by sports writers for failing to recognize in the letter that the real losers were the victims and their families, which included the young daughter of Lollar.
Lewis led the Ravens to the Super Bowl title in the season following the double murder. He spent the annual Super Bowl media day fending off questions from reporters about his role in the murders and cover-up. For Lewis, all that mattered and all he would talk about was football. He maintained that what he had told prosecutors was true, that he did not know actually who did the stabbing. He acknowledged that he thought about the incident sometimes. ''But that's on my time,'' he said, as he turned the conversation back to the game.44
A little more than a year after the stabbings and in the wake of Lewis's Super Bowl victory, two civil suits were filed against Lewis and his codefendants. One was filed in the name of India Smith, the daughter of Lollar by his girlfriend Kellye Smith. It sought $11 million in punitive and compensatory damages. The defense attorneys who represented Lewis in the criminal case called the civil case ''totally without merit.'' The other case was brought by the grandmother of Baker and sought $10 million. Both cases were settled for an undisclosed amount, although newspapers reported a $1 million agreement in the case filed on behalf of India Smith. Lewis's attorney would not verify that amount, but he did say, ''The parties have reached an amicable resolution,''45 after three mediation sessions, which allowed Lewis to avoid a pending trial.
In November 2002 Lewis was used in the marketing campaign for an NFL-licensed video game. In an advertisement he was shown walking across a field and sneering into a camera, and saying, ''Your momma can't save you now.'' Sports columnists questioned the appropriateness of the comment and the use of Lewis to sell a video game to children.46
Interestingly, many professional football players, while they expressed disdain for violent crime, used this case and others in this chapter to argue that athletes are subject to unfair media scrutiny. Professional athletes have complained that they are held to higher standards than the average person, and that when they do anything even moderately wrong, it becomes the subject of immense discussion on television, radio, and in newspapers and magazines. That this argument emerged after an athlete was accused of murder is telling. The debate about how much of an athlete's off-field
life should be relevant to his career continues, with no end in sight.
JAYSON WILLIAMS SHOOTS HIS LIMO DRIVER
As former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams gave a tour of his home to friends and members of the Harlem Globetrotters in February 2002, he accidentally shot and killed his limousine driver, Costas ''Gus'' Christo?, as he handled a shotgun. Williams then convinced nearly a half dozen people to help him cover-up the shooting, claiming to police that Christo? committed suicide.
Williams was charged with a variety of crimes for the shooting and subsequent cover-up. According to testimony, Williams took the loaded shotgun from a cabinet in his master bedroom, uttered an expletive at Christo?, presumptively in jest, and then snapped the weapon shut. It discharged, striking Christo? in the chest. He died within minutes. Witnesses said Williams dropped to his knees and wailed, ''Oh my God. Oh my God. My life is over.''47 At trial, the defense argued that the gun malfunctioned and the shooting was accidental. An expert testifled for the defense that the shotgun's firing mechanism was worn and fouled with wood chips, rust and oil, allowing it to discharge when closed. The prosecution called experts to dispute that the gun malfunctioned, and claimed that the handling of the gun was reckless to the point of being criminal. Noting that Williams had been drinking and handling a loaded gun in a room full of people, prosecutor Steven C. Lember told the jury, ''When you play with deadly weapons, 'accident' is no defense.''48 Witnesses admitted that before police arrived, Williams wiped the gun down and put it in Christo?'s hands before he stripped naked and swam in his indoor pool. A friend was directed to get rid of his clothes. Williams's brother, Victor Williams, called 911 and told the operator that Christo? had committed suicide, but voices could be heard in the background saying, ''Tell [the operator] that he reached for the gun,'' and ''Wipe the gun off.''49 In April 2004, Williams was convicted on four charges of tampering with evidence and trying to cover up the death of Christo?. Two of Williams's friends pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and testifled in the case. Four Globetrotters players testifled with immunity. Williams faces a maximum penalty of thirteen years in prison on those convictions, but a sentence of five years is more likely. He was acquitted on three of four shooting-related counts, including the most serious charge he faced, aggravated manslaughter. The jury, however, deadlocked 8-4 on a charge of reckless manslaughter and the prosecution opted to pursue a new trial. Williams remains free on bail and sentencing on the convictions was postponed until the resolution of the reckless manslaughter case.
A series of appeals prolonged the case, which had been scheduled for March 2005. The sides wrangled over whether the facts regarding the cover-up could be entered as evidence in the new trial, and whether a new trial was tantamount to double jeopardy. The appeals panel rejected the double jeopardy claim, but agreed that, since Williams had already been convicted of the cover-up, the evidence pertaining to that crime would be limited in the new trial. The case is slated for trial in the summer of 2008.
In the time between trials, Williams attempted a comeback of sorts, playing for the minor-league Idaho Stampede in the Continental Basketball Association in 2005. ''I respect the legal process and understand the road before me, yet I desire to use the gifts and skills God has given me as a basketball player,'' he said at the time.50 Williams, a former St. John's University star and 1990 NBA first-round draft pick, had signed an $85-million, six-year contract with the New Jersey Nets in 1999 before retiring in 2000 after a series of injuries that included a broken leg from a collision with a teammate. He had been employed as an NBA analyst for NBC, but was suspended after the shooting.
The Williams case also brought up issues of the line between on and off field, and whether athletes have any obligation to be role models. It also demonstrates that although compared to the general public they face relatively light sanctions for their indiscretions, athletes do suffer tremendous financial losses when they screw up.
BAYLOR BASKETBALL - THE MURDER OF PATRICK DENNEHY
In NCAA history there might never have been a more shameless, tragic scandal than the Baylor basketball scandal of 2003. The program, under Coach Dave Bliss, was rife with NCAA violations that came to light after one player murdered another, and then the coach attempted to mastermind a cover-up of under-the-table payments to players that included besmirching the deceased as a drug dealer.
The scandal began when Carlton Dotson shot and killed teammate Patrick Dennehy on June 12, 2003, while they were firing pistols at a gravel pit. Dennehy was reported as missing one week later, after his family could not contact him and became worried. Dotson was arrested in Maryland, his home state, after calling authorities and saying that he needed help because he had ''voices in his head.'' According to authorities, he confessed to killing Dennehy, but told an FBI agent that it was self-defense. He claimed that Dennehy had tried to kill him at the gravel pit but his gun jammed, allowing Dotson to shoot first. Dotson, speaking to reporters, denied that he had confessed. Dennehy's Chevrolet SUV was found June 25, without license plates, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Within days of Dotson's arrest, but six weeks after he was reported missing, Dennehy's badly decomposed body was found near the gravel pits outside of Waco, Texas. He had been shot twice in the head.
Between July 30 and August 1, assistant coach Abar Rouse taped conversations that he had with Coach Bliss, some of which included players. Bliss had been making payments to Dennehy to cover his tuition and other expenses, in a clear and calculated violation of NCAA rules. He feared that the violations would be uncovered through the investigation into the murder. On the tapes, Bliss could be heard concocting a story to paint Dennehy as a drug dealer who paid his own tuition. Rouse turned the tapes over to Baylor and NCAA investigators. The Fort-Worth Star Telegram obtained copies. On one tape, Bliss said, ''I think the thing we want to do … and you think about this … if there's a way we can create the perception that Pat [Patrick Dennehy] may have been a dealer. Even if we had to kind of make some things look a little better than they are, that can save us.''51 In an attempt to coerce a player to go along with the plan, he said, ''if Dotson hadn't killed Dennehy, we wouldn't be in this jam. So we don't deserve to be in this jam. The reason we're in this jam is because of a dead guy and a guy that murdered him, and that isn't fair for you and me and Abar to be in this jam.… We're the victims.''52 Bliss was forced to resign August 8 after admitting that two players were given improper payments. He admitted to the cover-up attempt after the tapes were in the hands of media outlets.
NCAA schools are barred from hiring Bliss without showing ''just cause'' and getting NCAA clearance until 2015.
Dennehy's stepfather, Brian Brabazon, reacted angrily to the tapes, saying of Bliss, ''What a callous, cold-hearted person he is. He's lied all the way through. He never told the truth about any of this until he was caught each time.''53 Dennehy's girlfriend was particularly upset when she read that Bliss had said, on tape, ''Dennehy is never going to refute what we say.… Now he's dead, so he isn't going to argue with me at all.''54
Dotson was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a state mental hospital. He claimed to be hallucinating and believed people were trying to kill him because he was Jesus. Experts at the facility believed he was faking. Just as the murder trial was set to commence, Dotson surprisingly pleaded guilty without a sentencing agreement. He was subsequently sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. In 2006 Dotson attempted to appeal. He was denied the request because he had waived the right to appeal by pleading guilty.
The NCAA considered shutting down Baylor's basketball program, but reconsidered in light of Baylor's self-imposed sanctions that included the forced resignation of Coach Bliss, a loss of scholarships, and a ban on postseason play. Still, the sanctions were stiff; the program was placed on five years of probation and was banned from playing nonconference games for one season.
Regarding a complete shutdown, the NCAA Division I chairman for the committee on infractions, Gene Marsh, said, ''We wa
lked up to the edge and then stepped back.''55 He continued, ''We considered this to be a death penalty case. But we looked at the cooperation from the school and the honest and blunt approach they took about what their programs were. You have to give some credit along the way to a school that cooperates.''56 The NCAA noted that the violations were egregious and showed a clear lack of institutional control. They included handing out more scholarships than allowed by giving players over $30,000 in prohibited benefits, making impermissible donations to amateur teams with prep standouts, and covering up failed drug tests by players. Baylor University basketball came as close as any program has come to receiving the NCAA ''death penalty'' since Southern Methodist football actually did and lost the 1987 and part of the 1988 seasons. To avoid a possible lawsuit, Baylor reached a settlement with Dennehy's mother, Valorie Brabazon in May 2004. Neither side provided details, but Brabazon, through her attorney, released a statement reading that her family wanted ''to thank Baylor, its administrators, and staff for responding with sensitivity and caring concern for their needs, since the time of Patrick's untimely death in the summer of 2003.''57 Dennehy's father, Patrick Dennehy Sr., had filed a wrongful death suit against the school. It was dismissed because, according to the judge, the death was not foreseeable.
Valparaiso head coach Scott Drew, at only thirty-two years old and with one season as a head coach, agreed to take on the challenge of leading Baylor basketball into the future. He had assisted his father, Homer Drew, at ''Valpo'' for nine years before taking over the team and leading it to a 20-11 season and a National Invitation Tournament appearance. Drew met the monumental challenge at Baylor head-on, and by the 2006-7 season the team was showing signs of becoming competitive. Operating with a full complement of scholarships for the first time since the scandal, the team finished 15-16, the most wins for the program in six years.
Sports Scandals Page 4
