[FUNNY THAT A BANK WOULD PUT ON A PARTY FOR AN ATHLETE WHOSE COACH WAS JAILED FOR FRAUD AND EMBEZZLEMENT. GUESS THAT CLEARS THE WAY FOR THE WORLD BANK TO THROW A TURN FOR COACH STEVE RIDDICK, WHO HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF BANK FRAUD. kk]
TRACK AND FIELD
Gay ‘disappointed’ that Hogs’ titles were stripped
RUNNER HONORED LAST NIGHT AT LAFAYETTE
By Mark Maloney
MMALONEY@HERALD-LEADER.COM
How’s this for a party pooper?
Thursday, a day before 60 of Tyson Gay’s closest family and friends gathered to honor the world champion sprinter, the NCAA announced that his 2004 100-meter title for Arkansas, as well as Razorbacks team championships from the 2004 and 2005 seasons, have been stripped.
Last night’s celebration, in the cafeteria where he lunched as a Lafayette High student, was arranged by Fifth Third Bank to honor Gay for his three gold-medal finishes (100, 200, 4-by-100 meters) at the World Championships in Japan.
The party went on without talk of the NCAA. But, earlier, he discussed the matter.
“I’m very upset with the situation. I really can’t comment too much (because) Arkansas’ appealing it. That’s a good thing,” he said. "I’m just disappointed about the fact they’re taking the team title from people who worked really hard to win as a team.
“Some of those people, those were their last races. They’ll never get to run again or have another championship. I don’t think it’s fair for you to take that from people who work really hard.”
The NCAA, noting that Arkansas was sanctioned in 1997 and 2003 for violations in the football and basketball programs, also put the Hogs on a three-year probation.
At the center of the storm is Lance Brauman. He coached Gay at Barton (Kan.) County Community College, then as sprint coach at Arkansas.
Brauman was convicted of embezzlement, theft and mail fraud in July of 2006. Charges included misuse of school and federal work-study funds to pay Barton athletes for work they didn’t do.
Arkansas self-reported that Brauman and his wife, Kim, provided transportation and arranged lodging for Gay in the summer of 2003, before being enrolled. And that Lance asked his sister-in-law to tutor Gay and helped arrange for two people to serve as proctors for tests in a correspondence course.
The federal indictment said that Brauman had Arkansas pay for Gay to enroll in a class even though he knew Gay would not complete the course; caused a transcript to be sent to Arkansas, indicating that Gay had completed the course; and caused Brigham Young University to send documents for a course to Barton so that Gay could get credit for a class that he didn’t finish.
Gay repeated last night that he didn’t know anything was wrong until he had completed his collegiate eligibility.
[b]“It was a shock to me. I found out when (federal prosecutors) told me I had to testify,” he said. “They told me ‘either you come and testify or you go to jail.’”
Gay testified and Brauman, who remains his coach, served a year in prison. Gay says he and Brauman “haven’t talked about (the violations) much.”[/b]
The party went on, with several standing ovations for Gay.
Craig Masback, CEO of USA Track & Field, put Gay’s world title in the 100 into perspective, noting that the 100 is the most attempted event in the “most widespread sport in the world” (211 nations).
Masback also read a USATF proclamation that made yesterday “Tyson Gay Day.”
Later, Gay was honored at Lafayette’s football game and was made a Kentucky Colonel.
