Brady stealing the playbook?” He laughed. “Did you ever see that episode?”
I smiled in spite of myself. “Of course. I’ve seen every Brady Bunch episode. And it was Jerry Rogers who tried to steal the playbook from Greg. Greg would never do something like that. Now answer the question.”
“I did answer it. I said no. I don’t cheat because I don’t need to cheat. I’m that good. But if I had to …”
“Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend?” I pressed, now looking for any excuse to be mad at him.
He cracked the knuckles on his other hand and looked me right in the eye. “Never,” he said.
It seemed impossible, given the opportunities he must have had over the years, but he didn’t flinch or even blink.
“Okay,” I said, deciding to believe him.
“Look, Shea. All I’m saying is—sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.” He picked up his club and knocked in another easy putt.
The next morning, and another few phone calls later, including one to the NCAA, I emailed Smiley my measly three-hundred-word story, relieved that there were no smoking guns, only a couple of quotes, including one from a not very credible UT insider. In other words, it was the best I could have hoped for when I started poking around.
NCAA PROBES BRONCOS
BY SHEA RIGSBY
Walker University’s football program is officially under NCAA investigation, having received a notice of inquiry in late July, says a source with knowledge of the case. The specific nature of the alleged violations was not disclosed, but one source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the transgressions as “mostly minor but potentially more major and wide-ranging in nature,” including concerns about several past and current players’ eligibility and academic misconduct, as well as “extra benefits and possible recruiting violations.” Another source close to the University of Texas athletic department specifically named Walker freshman running back Reggie Rhodes, claiming he was “inappropriately entertained by a Walker booster.”
According to the NCAA’s legislative database, this is the first investigation during Coach Clive Carr’s tenure at Walker, a school known for its squeaky-clean reputation. NCAA senior spokeswoman Emma Potts said: “We can’t comment on current, pending, or potential investigations.”
According to Scott Galovan, Walker’s senior vice president for public affairs, the school is cooperating and collaborating with the NCAA as part of the ongoing inquiry but, as a private university, is not subject to Freedom of Information requests to reveal the notice of inquiry. The notice is sent to schools as formal notification that an investigation is being conducted. If violations become substantiated, the next step in the NCAA process would be a notice of allegations, which would spell out detailed violations.
Walker University athletics director Stuart Sherrill issued the following statement: “The focus of our coaches and student athletes is solely on preparing for LSU this Saturday. As such, I have instructed Coach Carr, his staff, and our student athletes to refrain from commenting on or answering questions regarding the status of this investigation.”
Within seconds of filing my story, my phone lit up with Smiley’s name. “A school known for being squeaky clean? Oh, really, now?” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
“Well. It is.”
“That’s your opinion, Ms. Rigsby.”
I resisted the temptation to argue that it was actually closer to fact than opinion, sort of like saying: Most people describe the sky as blue.
“Except for that bit of covert propaganda, it’s fine,” Smiley said. “We’ll run it tomorrow.”
That evening after practice, I stopped Coach on his way back to his office and asked if he had a minute.
“For you? Sure,” he said, adjusting his cap with an easy half smile.
I smiled back at him and said, “You feeling good about LSU?”
“Yeah. I am. But don’t print that.”
“Obviously. I’m not that much of a rookie.” Then I took a deep breath and said, “But … I just wanted you to know that we … I have to run another story tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah?” he said.
“Yeah. About the investigation.”
He stared at me for a second, then gave me a brisk nod. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know how much you hate distractions.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “I don’t listen to what people say and write about this program. There are fifty-two thousand people yelling at me in this stadium every time we play. I learned a long time ago to tune out the noise.”
I nodded and said, “I hope you can tune it out. I hope Reggie can tune it out, too. He’s named in the story.”
“I hope you can tune