Tuesday, July 27, 2004 STEVE IRVINE and DOUG SEGREST News staff writers Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer announced Monday he will skip his scheduled appearance at SEC Football Media Days to avoid contact with attorneys representing two former Alabama assistant coaches who want to get sworn testimony from Fulmer as part of the coaches' defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. The league said it will fine the University of Tennessee $10,000 if Fulmer does not show for his schedule appearance Thursday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. Fulmer said last week that he had safety concerns about attending the event. But on Monday, when announcing his decision, Fulmer cited the desire to avoid the "legal circus that has been created by an isolated group of attorneys. "They want to hijack Media Days for their own benefit but I am not going to allow that to happen." "This day is for the players," Fulmer continued in a statement released by the university. "They should be center stage instead of this small group of lawyers who intend on attacking the integrity of the NCAA's enforcement process." Tommy Gallion, the lead attorney for former Alabama assistants Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams in their $60 million lawsuit against the NCAA, sent a letter to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive last Friday, asking Slive to "arrange a time with the University of Tennessee when we could take the deposition of Coach Fulmer" during Media Days. If he did not get that arrangement, he said, he intended to serve a subpoena on Fulmer on Thursday. Fulmer is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but Gallion claims Fulmer was part of a conspiracy by Tennessee loyalists to manufacture an NCAA case against Alabama involving the recruitment of Memphis prospect Albert Means. The recruitment of Means and other violations led to harsh penalties against the Alabama program. NCAA documents that came to light showed Fulmer was a confidential informant for NCAA investigator Richard Johanningmeier. According to the documents, Fulmer passed on information about numerous purported violations by Alabama and told the investigator that his primary source of information was recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper, who is one of the defendants in Cottrell's lawsuit. According to the documents, Fulmer told the NCAA investigator that he encouraged Culpepper to share information with the NCAA, and that Fulmer secretly taped approximately 90 minutes of a conversation with Culpepper. Gallion sent a second letter to Slive on Monday after hearing that Fulmer backed out of his appearance. Gallion stated in his second letter that neither "I nor anyone on my legal team will attempt to serve Coach Fulmer with any notice deposition or subpoena while he is in Alabama so that he should be able to attend Media Days." Slive said late Monday that he had not received the second letter. Gallion said in an interview on Monday that he hoped the second letter would persuade Fulmer to make his originally scheduled appearance. Two Tennessee players - linebacker Kevin Burnett and offensive tackle Michael Munoz - are expected to keep their scheduled appearance. But Fulmer will address the media by teleconference during his scheduled time slot on Thursday morning. "I am disappointed that Coach Fulmer will not attend Football Media Days," Slive said. "Football Media Days is a very important event for the SEC and we expect each of our institutions to fully participate." Gallion expressed disappointment that Slive did not answer his request. The lawyer had previously written to the University of Tennessee to ask for an appointment to take testimony from Fulmer. In his first letter to Slive, Gallion also wrote that the SEC should "seriously consider" canceling this season's Alabama-Tennessee game in Knoxville due to the "ill feelings between the two schools." Fulmer used a good portion of a rambling statement Monday to defend the NCAA punishment of Alabama and attacking the lawyers representing Cottrell and Williams, although he didn't mention Alabama or any lawyers by name. "There are those who want to attack the integrity of the NCAA's enforcement authority, but I do not believe they will be successful in intimidating the NCAA or other coaches from doing what is right," Fulmer said. "When you get behind all the smoke and the big pile of lawsuits, the truth still stands: rules were broken, an investigation proved it, those who broke the rules admitted their guilt, and a university paid the price. There are a few people who cannot accept the truth, so they file lawsuits hoping the truth will go away." Gallion said he welcomes the opportunity to find out Fulmer's knowledge in the case. "If he knew things, we need to know them in order to pursue our case," Gallion said. "We need to know the truth.I do not understand why he would refuse to go under oath, at the risk of perjury, and give his sworn testimony." Some Alabama and Tennessee fans alike were stunned to hear of Fulmer's decision Monday. "He should never be afraid to go anywhere," said Ben Whitworth, a student at the University of Alabama who is from Birmingham. "Tennessee and Alabama have been rivals for years, and he's never skipped it before." Several Alabama fans posted their displeasure on Internet message boards. Said one: "Not only is he ducking any possible grilling from journalists but he is trying to gain some pity from the media." A Tennessee fan posted: "He's just put a big ole target on Munoz and Barnett's back. All and all, pretty pathetic of him." News staff writer Drew Champlin contributed to this report.
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