Chancellor backs Pelphrey as internal investigation continues

By Brandon Marcello

Posted: September 11, 2009 at 1:01 p.m.

Staton Breidenthal University of Arkansas Chancellor David Gearhart, pictured here Sept. 4, came out in support of Arkansas basketball coach John Pelphrey on Friday.

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FAYETTEVILLE — The chancellor of the University of Arkansas remains "100 percent supportive" of Arkansas' basketball coach after three of his players were investigated over an alleged rape on campus.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said in a statement Thursday that the UA was in the process of reviewing information and would "move forward judiciously and will take appropriate action when the review is complete."

Though no charges were filed by prosecutors, three Arkansas basketball players were suspects in a University of Arkansas Police Department investigation after an 18-year-old female student alleged three men sexually assaulted and raped her during a party early on Aug. 27 at the Phi Gamma Delta house on the UA campus.

Washington County deputy prosecutor Dustin Roberts said Wednesday the sexual acts seemed consensual and filed no charges against the players.

As the UA reviews the matter, Chancellor David Gearhart has remained supportive of Pelphrey.

"I think he's a great coach and he has my 100 percent backing," Gearhart said.

Gearhart has not spoken to Pelphrey, but he has been in "constant contact" with athletics director Jeff Long.

"It's regrettable some of the things that happened, but I know Jeff Long is going to be looking into it and is looking into it," Gearhart said. "We've talked numerous times and discussed the situation, and I know he and John Pelphrey will be reviewing it very closely."

Arkansas Razorbacks sophomore guard Courtney Fortson could face disciplinary action up to the removal of his scholarship or dismissal from the team after he sent an insensitive comment on Twitter while teammates were being investigated by police following the rape allegation.

Fortson, who was not named in the rape allegation or 11-page incident report, posted the message Monday while the investigation was still ongoing. Twitter is a free web-based, micro-blogging service that enables its users to send short, text-based messages and read them on the author's profile page.

Fortson wrote: "Im gettin it at workouts like a dude who doesnt understand the word no from a drunk girl lol."

Arkansas media relations director Kevin Trainor said the UA was aware of the tweet Thursday, and referred to athletic director Jeff Long's statement released Wednesday.

"As Jeff Long referenced [Wednesday] in his statement, student-athletes are responsible for their conduct under athletic department policies," Trainor said in an e-mail correspondence Thursday. "As Mr. Long also noted, the athletic department will take appropriate action when policies are violated."

Long released several statements on his Twitter account Friday afternoon.

"We will review all available information and handle with honesty and integrity, while observing individual rights," Long wrote.

Meanwhile, the woman's lawyer said Friday that they may move forward with other actions after charges were not filed by the prosecutor's office.

"The victim and her family were obviously very surprised and disappointed by the decision of the Washington County Prosecutor's Office to not only refuse to file charges in this case, but also by their failure to conduct an independent and thorough investigation of their own," John D. Bass said in a written statement.

The family of the 18-year-old UA student is considering requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor because of a "professional conflict," between Arkansas staff and the prosecutor's office, Bass said. In the statement, Bass identifies Washington County prosecutor John Threet as the son-in-law of former Arkansas athletics director Frank Broyles. Trainor, the UA spokesman, is identified as Threet's brother-in-law in Bass' statement.

"Another option would be the possibility of a civil suit involving some or all of the myriad of individuals and entities involved in the incident and investigation," Bass said. "The family would like to thank everyone for respecting their privacy in this difficult time."

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