First, some backstory. Former KU Director of Sports Medicine William Dent publicly alleged that a business known as Medical Outfitters was awarded under-the-table center-court basketball tickets in exchange for the loan of exercise equipment to KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins. Dent also alleged that three current and former basketball players were ineligible, and that there were violations of the university drug policy within the athletic department. Lew Perkins, through his attorney, claimed that he was being blackmailed by Dent, something along the lines of, "pay me some money or I'll go public with the ticket scam, the ineligible athletes and the drug policy violations." Dent has claimed that he was just seeking payment for storage of the equipment, which he has stored at his own expense.
When the matter came to the attention of the KU Chancellor, she issued a "KU News Release." It starts with the most interesting bit of doublespeak seen in years:
"Although originating from a questionable source, several allegations
were raised in the media this weekend about Kansas Athletics. I urge
that there not be a rush to judgment in the absence of facts that support the allegations." (emphasis added).
As you can see in the emphasized portions of the quote from the News Release, the Chancellor asked that there not be a "rush to judment" one sentence after she called William Dent a "questionable source." Apparently, Chancellor Gray-Little was concerned about a rush to judgment regarding Kansas, but not a rush to judgment involving the ex-Kansas University employee.
In that same official News Release, the Chancellor wrote: "I have appointed senior members of the university staff to work with Kansas Athletics to fully review and bring closure to the allegations that have been made. I have requested that the review be completed within 10 working days." Only five working days after it was announced, the KU internal investigation concluded, finding “no evidence” to substantiate William Dent’s claims of drug policy abuse, ineligible players and a tickets-for-exercise-equipment scam.
In a follow-up "KU News Release," the University of Kansas Chancellor stated that "[t]he review found no evidence of an exchange of exercise equipment for preferential seating, no evidence of drug-testing irregularites and no evidence of ineligible student-athletes." The Chancellor again hinted at the malevolence of William Dent in this News Release, saying that "we may question the motivations of the source...."
On June 23, 2010, the Lawrence Journal-World found evidence to support William Dent's claims of a tickets-for-exercise-equipment scam. The LJW reported: "According to documents obtained by the Journal-World through a Kansas Open Records request, an executive of Medical Outfitters went from having four seats on the 24th row of an upper-level corner section in Allen Fieldhouse to having four seats on the seventh row of a mid-level section along the west side of the court."
Since that newspaper article, the Chancellor has not acknowledged the changed circumstances. She has not publicly re-opened the KU internal investigation (even to allow it to go another 5 business days), and she's not publicly forwarded the allegations to the NCAA. Now that Dent's allegations have some substance -- at least as to the tickets-for-exercise-equipment charges -- the Chancellor should feel compelled to re-inquire. If only to get herself off the frier and wipe the egg off her face.
-- Have you already forwarded the Dent allegations to the NCAA?
-- When do you plan to forward the Dent allegations to the NCAA?
-- In your initial News Release, you indicate that KU would conduct an internal investigation, but you basically started your News Release calling Mr. Dent a "questionable source." Was that not a rush to judgment on your part?
-- In fact, in the very next sentence after you call William Dent a "quesitonable source," you ask everyone not to rush to judgment against the University of Kansas. Don't you think that the same standard should be applied to both the accuser and the accused?
-- As for "questionable sources," did you feel that anyone in the KU Athletic Department might be a "questionable source," given the fact that five (5) of them have been investigated by the IRS and FBI and two of them have already pled guilty to ticket scamming and are cooperating with authorities?
-- Were you satisfied with the University of Kansas' internal investigation of William Dent's allegations?
-- Did your investigators only question Dent once about the allegations involving ineligible athletes and drug policy violations, and, when he wouldn't talk to them about that, give up?
-- Did your investigators look at all into allegations that former KU player Darrell Arthur was ineligible to play basketball at Kansas?
-- Did the findings and reporting made public by the LJW on June 23, 2010 change your mind about the allegations in any respect?
-- Did your two investigators have time enough to do a thorough investigation of all three allegations in only five (5) business days?
-- Exactly who did they interview and what documents and other media did they review to get to the bottom of the tickets-for-exercise-equipment charge?
-- Exactly who did they interview and what documents and other media did they review to get to the bottom of the ineligible players charge?
-- Exactly who did they interview and what documents and other media did they review to get to the bottom of the university drug policy violations charge?
-- Are you concerned that, by not forwarding the charges to the NCAA, the NCAA might look at that inaction as part of a "lack of institutional control" charge?
-- Are you concerned that the NCAA might consider the KU internal investigation more of an attempt to hide the truth than seek it out?
