http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/football/article/0,1426,MCA_478_3071443,00.html
Winner? Attorney flattens Fulmer By Geoff Calkins July 29, 2004 BIRMINGHAM - Until my tire blew I didn't believe any of it. Didn't believe Phil Fulmer had a secret deal with the NCAA. Didn't believe in vast intercollegiate conspiracies. Didn't believe anyone was out to nail Alabama and protect Tennessee. Then I happened to mention on my morning radio show that I was driving to Montgomery on Wednesday to meet with attorney Tommy Gallion, the lawyer behind most of these conspiracy theories. An hour later I was cruising down Interstate 65 when BANG! (Thump, thump, thump, thump). A blown tire. No meeting with Gallion. Coincidence? "I can't tell what happened," said Kenny, the guy at the local Firestone. "It's shredded so badly it's impossible to know." Cue spooky music here. Also, get Gallion on the phone. The man is 92 miles away from Birmingham, but there's no bigger figure at SEC Media Days. Never mind what the writers say. Never mind which team they pick in the East or the West. Gallion is the big winner this week and it isn't even close. "I didn't think I was in a battle," he said. "But did it come out favorably to us instead of Phil Fulmer? "Yes, I think you could say that." Fulmer did more than blow off media days this week. He made Gallion look like something other than a kook. Previously, the rest of the country was able to dismiss Gallion as part of the Crimson Tide fringe. Alabama cheated. Alabama got nailed. Geez, guys, get over it. Then along comes Fulmer, declining to show because he doesn't want to accept Gallion's subpoena. Suddenly, people start to wonder. Suddenly, the questions come hard and fast. What has Fulmer got to hide? If he hasn't done anything wrong, why avoid the subpoena? Why not stand up to the Alabama nutjobs? "I realize in Tennessee I've been dismissed as a kook," Gallion said. "But the only thing I've tried to do is take the man's deposition. If his allegations are truthful, why won't he tell the truth under oath?" If Gallion sounds reasonable it's because he can be at times. He's a successful partner at a Montgomery law firm. His father was attorney general of the state. He has sued two Alabama governors and says he lost one jury trial in 34 years. But on this one, well, ask him why the NCAA would be out to protect one SEC school and hammer another. "I don't know why," Gallion said. "Why did J. Edgar Hoover set up innocent blacks in the South?" Hmmm. Alabama football morphs into the Civil Rights struggle. Hello, anybody home? But you don't have to be a Crimson Kool-Aid drinker to think Gallion has a point this week. He raised the possibility of serving Fulmer with a subpoena only after first asking SEC commissioner Mike Slive to help arrange a private deposition. "If my goal was to turn media days into a circus, why would I have done that?" Gallion said. When Fulmer declined, Gallion figured he'd serve the subpoena while Fulmer was in town. He said he never imagined the coach pulling out. "I was on my way to yoga," he said. "When I heard the news I immediately wrote a letter to Slive saying I'd leave Fulmer alone." Ahhh, another master stroke. Except for sheer pig-headedness, what could possibly keep Fulmer away now? "I don't know," Gallion said. "I do not hold the man in particularly high regard." So on Wednesday Gallion planned his next move, which presumably included a slice of birthday cake. Gallion turned 61 Wednesday. His colleagues gave him a framed copy of a recent magazine profile headlined "Gunning for the NCAA." And, yes, we posed the obvious question to Mickie Peacock, Gallion's assistant, who was in a position to know. "I handle all his mail," she said, with a small laugh. "And he has not gotten any presents from Knoxville." ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
