Times Editorial : Troubled days

Doubts about hoop Hogs don't extend to prosecutor

— John Pelphrey's had a tough time of it since coming on board as men's head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas morethan two years ago. Under his leadership, some Razorback athletes have had a difficult time making good grades; others have simply left school and transferred elsewhere.

Of course, it's difficult to blame Pelphrey too much. Besides fighting to implement his personnel basketball philosophy with players he didn't recruit, there's also the matter of Arkansas' existence in a tough basketball conference and the endless pressure to WIN always riding the hoops program. Not that it excuses the disappointments of Pelphrey's young tenure in Fayetteville - or the team's failures in general since the UA's decision to dispatch Hall of Fame Coach Nolan Richardson seven years ago. Mistakes have definitely been made.

Still, in fairness, many of the program's stars are teenagers. They're just kids. And kids make mistakes sometimes. (Don't we all.) No excuses. Just facts.

Unfortunately, such a rationale doesn't excuse the reckless lack of judgment that unfolded on campus almost one month ago. Without question, an Aug. 27 party at the UA's Phi Gamma Delta house has stained the university's reputation, as well as Greek life in general. Although the Washington County's Prosecutor's Office won't be bringing charges based on the evidence currently before it, that has done little to quell the concerns about an 18-year-old UA student who alleges that three Arkansas basketball players sexually assaulted and raped her.

The players deny those charges.

Last Thursday we learned the players involved could face punishment ranging from two- to three-game suspensions, community service, educational meetings and so on. At a bare minimum, it would seem fair to say that the players are guilty of actions unbecoming a scholarship athlete at the state's principal university, and as such have a lot of repair work facing them - both in terms of winning their coach's trust back as well as the respect of young fans across the state who look up to our hoop Hogs as role models, whether anyone thinks they should or not.

We want to see Coach Pelphrey - and the team he already has - succeed at Arkansas. They put in longer hours and work harder at winning than the fans will ever know. But the UA must fight to bring in players on the recruiting trail that have the character to conform their actions to reasonable behavior.

Sure, sometimes kids make mistakes. But we can't help thinking actions like those that unfolded Aug. 27 - not to mention sophomore guard Courtney Fortson's blush-worthy comment via Twitter - are more than likely avoided when common sense is being deployed.

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Additionally, there's word that the family of young girl who unfortunately won a starring role in this embarrassing tale are considering requesting the help of a special prosecutor in this case. The reason? The conflict of interest which may exist between the prosecutor's office and the UA athletic department.

Some background may prove helpful: Former athletic director Frank Broyles is John Threet's father-in-law. That's fairly significant since Threet is the county prosecutor. Oh, and did we mention that Kevin Trainor, who heads up the UA's sports information efforts, is Threet's brother-in-law?

We know, we know. Either this has all the makings of a lazy Southern gothic novel, or the fix was in from the beginning.

We understand the skepticism. But Mr. Threet has always struck us as a man who works for the victimized among us. If he believed someone was victimized, it's doubtful he would shy away no matter who was involved. That's no reason to oppose a special prosecutor, certainly, but the evidence suggests the claim against him doesn't hold water.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 09/21/2009

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