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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1995)
Players’ off-field trouble causes concern By J. Christopher Hain Editor The shining image of the Nebraska foot ball team is becoming tarnished faster than coach Tom Osborne can polish it. The top two I-backs on the team, Lawrence Phillips and Damon Benning, . have run aground with the law. Both Phillips and Benning are accused of assaulting ex-girlfriends. And Phillips, a leading Heisman Trophy candi date, has been kicked off the team. Those incidents — and several others involving players—have made the sanctity of the Comhusker image a matter of concern. - Over the last few years, four other Ne braska players have been involved in less than glorious off-the-field incidents. • Tyrone Williams, starting comerback, is accused of firing a gun at a person in a car. • Reggie Baul, starting split end, was found guilty of receiving a stolen wallet. • Riley Washington, reserve split end, awaits trial on charges of attempted second degree murder. • Christian Peter, starting defensive tackle, was found guilty of third-degree sexual assault. He also has been fined for third degree assault and other offenses. With six prominent players in trouble, comparisons might be drawn between Ne braska and other football programs with muddied reputations. But UNL Interim Chancel lor Joan Leitzel said the Nebraska football program was not in danger of mirroring situations like those at the University of Oklahoma in 1989 and the University of Miami over the past few years. “The athletic program has been a highly regulated and responsible program,” Leitzel said. The University of Oklahoma football pro gram descended into lawlessness in 1989, ....—-- m Jon Waller/DN Philitos^ismissai ftSm theteam speaks after Prac,ice “onday to members of the media about l-back Lawrence snoniy aner tne program was placed on three years of probation by the NCAA. OU football players were accused of a gang-rape, a shooting and cocaine dealing, among other things. Thissummer, Sports Illustrated published an article addressing the continuing prob lems with the University of Miami football program. Miami football players have been charged with drunken driving, burglary, arson, as sault and sexual battery. v However, most of the crimes attributed to Nebraska football players are less serious than those at Miami or Oklahoma. And Ne braska has yet to encounter serious NCAA violations. Leitzel’s concern is the behavioral prob lems of Phillips and Benning. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen said the incidents involving both Phillips and Benning would be reviewed to determine if they violated the Student Code of Conduct. If so, a number of sanctions could be taken against either player, including warBR>:.c ings, restitution or even expulsion. Osborne said the football team would continue to support Phillips, despite his dis missal from the team. But Osborne has been affected by all the media attention targeted at his players and their troubles. “There comes a time,” the coach said at a luncheon Monday, “when this all kind of weighs on me.” L Phillips Continued from Pgge 1 sophomore record by rushing for 1,722 yards, the second highest rushing total in Nebraska history. This season, Phillips ran for 359 yards and seven touchdowns on 34 attempts in two games, an average of 10.6 yards per carry. In his 24 game career, the preseason All-American has rushed for 2,589 yards, ranking sixth on the all time Comhusker rushing charts. ‘‘We lost a great player in Lawrence Phillips,” Osborne said Monday at the Extra Point lun cheon , where he was speaking before a group of boosters. “Lawrence was probably playing as good as any I-back we have had in a long time.” In most-cases, Osborne said the Unity Coun cil —a group made up of two football players from each position—set the policy on suspen sions and dismissals from the team. Under Unity Council rules, a player is per manently dismissed after twice losing five points on the team’s merit scale. If a player is convicted of a felony, he loses the full five points. Conviction of a misde meanor costs a player four points. A player loses three points for missing prac tice, two points for missing a meeting and one point for missing a class or tutoring session. If a player loses all five points, he is suspended from the team. , The second time a player loses all five points, he is usually thrown off the team permanently. Phillips was suspended for one game in 1993 for fighting with a teammate. Since then, he has not been suspended. Osborne, who made the decision to remove Phillips, said he reserved the right to overstep the power of the Unity Council. “There is a certain amount of discretion left up to me as coach,” he said. “And there is pretty good communication among the team members as to why somebody isn’t playing. - “I imagine there have been 1,000 rumors spread around this room today, and probably one or two people actually know what hap pened. “And I hope I am one of them. I may not be, but I hope that I am.” Osborne said he was confident the Huskers would overcome this distraction. Nebraska play ers decided Monday afternoon that they would not talk to the media this week—about Phillips or anything else. Phillips has been under a great deal of scru tiny from the NCAA and the media recently concerning his relationship with a professional sports agent. Osborne said the pressure may have indirectly contributed to Phillips’ actions Sunday morning. “I understand the press,” Osborne said. “They have got a tough job to do. There comes a time when this all kind of weighs on me. “You have to understand how difficult it isto be a young person. They (football players) are not normal col 1 ege students. They get way more credit than they deserve when they score a touchdown,” he said. Though Phillips is not the victim in this ' incident, Osborne said he would be sympathetic toward his player, considering his background. • jhink he knows that I am with him in spirit, Osborne said. “Lawrence has come up the hard way. He’s a survivor, and I am hoping he will survive this, too. “Basically when you are without any parents at age 11, and you are on your own, you find a way to get by. Some of the survival techniques that he s had have led him to getting in some trouble. “I haven’t given up on him as a person ” . Travis Heying/DN The Meadow Wood Apartments at 4440 N. 7th St., where junior l-back^ Lawrence Phillips allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, NU basketball player Kate McEwen. _ 1 Witness Continued from Page 1 the apartment. Police said Phillips entered Frost’s apart ment through an unlocked sliding door. As Frost called police from a cellular phone, Casady said, Phillips allegedly began beating McEwen. “He was just completely out of control. He was totally irrational,” the UNL junior said. “Scott kept saying, ‘What about football?”’ Police said Frost filed a trespassing com plaint against Phillips. Police called NU Athletic Department offi cials to the crime scene. They helped police locate Phillips, who turned himself in at 8:15 p.m. Sunday. An hour later, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne announced he had kicked Phillips off the team. McEwen received a cut to her head and several scrapes and bruises. She was treated and released at Lincoln General Hospital. McEwen went to her parents home in To peka, Kan., after the alleged assault. Numerous attempts to contact her Monday were unsuc cessful. Lincoln attorney Hal Anderson said Phillips will plead not guilty to the charges. Phillips is scheduled to be arraigned today. The two women said they knew McEwen but were not close friends. But they immediately went outside their apartment when they heard the young woman’s screams. The struggle in the building’s foyer lasted fewer than five minutes. Frost and the two witnesses tried to get McEwen inside the secu rity door. “When he pulled back and pulled her into the wall, they (Phillips and McEwen) both hit die flow,” the UNL junior said. “She started run ning toward me. We pulled her into the apart ment.”