The Drama Continues for Pinnacle Preps in Lawsuit
Robert Shields
A week after writing my column about Pinnacle Preps, a business in northwest Arkansas that markets high school athletes to colleges, owner Walt Williams is being sued in a Washington County court for allegedly not doing the job he was being paid for, according to the plaintiff in the filed suit. The lawsuit alleges fraud and breach of contract. The case was brought by a parent of a high school athlete who signed with Williams’ company.
In my column last week, I wrote how some in the Razorback fan base were very upset with Williams and their perception of his tactics. They find it unexplainable why a five-star recruit such as Michael Dyer would need Williams to market (pimp to some fans) this highly recruited athlete’s services to colleges. Dyer was the all-time leading rusher in Arkansas. Colleges across the country knew who Dyer was.
Some fans also found it distasteful that Dyer signed with Auburn and that Williams played for Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn in high school at Shiloh Christian.
And as stated last week, Williams bad-mouthed Razorback coach Bobby Petrino and later said he regretted it by offering an apology on an Internet site dedicated to recruiting and the Razorbacks. The apology was not well received by fans and left no doubt that Williams was also fond of Malzahn.
I wrote last week that Williams charges thousands of dollars for his services. I also wrote that I was not aware how much Dyer paid Pinnacle Preps. I may never know the amount since private businesses do not have to disclose such information unless from discovery in a court case. I guess the person filing this civil suit might be able to find out.
The parent in this civil suit against Williams alleges that services were not rendered as promised, and that his son was receiving interest from colleges before signing on with Pinnacle Preps and then it stopped after signing with Pinnacle Preps. The interest from colleges returned once the parents interjected themselves back into the marketing of their son.
It will be interesting to watch how this case plays out in the coming weeks. One of the most interesting pieces of the filed suit is that it asks for a temporary injunction to be ordered against Pinnacle Preps from engaging in any future contracts with high school athletes.
I got a lot of feedback last week from some who wanted me to take a much harder approach on Williams and Pinnacle Preps, and that in their opinion I was not telling the whole story. I stand by the column last week as being based on facts and not hearsay or speculation.
I will, however, be glad to produce my columns to the NCAA if they for whatever reason begin to look at Auburn’s recruiting class.
Send your speculation and rumors to fromthebench@yahoo.com.
My latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided,” is now available on Amazon. Buy it now so that I can afford season tickets instead of me having to ask Kevin Trainor for press passes.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
From the Bench
Fans Question Pinnacle of Recruiting Services
Robert Shields
Following the escape of an Arkansas football player to an out-of-state school on national signing day, the message boards went into overdrive over a man in northwest Arkansas named Walt Williams who is the latest Springdale persona to bring drama to Razorback football. Why am I the only sports writer in the state who has tackled this subject? Good question.
For those who have better things to do than spend every moment following the recruiting wars, Williams is president of a recruiting service called Pinnacle Preps. He lit up the Razorback message boards and a couple of other SEC message boards and was mentioned on a few radio call-in shows. T. Biddy, who runs the Rivals message board and appears on “Drive Time Sports” to talk all things recruiting, was asked about Williams on the show, as was Wally Hall on the lesser-rated “Sports Animals” program.
According to Williams’ web site, Pinnacle Preps offers services for high school football players to promote their skills to college recruiters at prices billed to their parents ranging from a couple hundred dollars to a premium package of $3,000. These services can include making a web site, video package, and post cards about these gifted high school athletes.
Some fans seem to be up in arms over the idea of this business that they say pimps these high school kids. However, there is nothing illegal about it. A parent could just as easily pimp her son out by hiring some high-powered marketing firm to do the same thing. Maybe Williams can do it more cost effectively and keep the business in state, unlike the UA athletic department, which outsources its non-stop marketing e-mails to an out-of-state company.
Why a parent would ever do this is beyond me. If your kid is a major college athlete, he will be found. If a kid is of average ability, I am sure his high school coach would help in trying to place him. But that is just my opinion. For whatever reason, there seems to be a market for this service as some parents want to farm out some of their responsibilities in a period where college recruiting has gone off-the-charts crazy.
Ultimately, what got some fans fired up about Williams was that he apparently bad mouthed Razorback football coach Bobby Petrino, and that is a no-no on the Internet. Some Razorback fans took umbrage with the perceived attack on Petrino as it could be seen as a conflict of interest since he has potential recruits as his clients. (Note to Mr. Williams: Only sports writers and fans are allowed to bad mouth the coach)
Williams regretted the decision and made an apology on a message board that was not very well received. Some fans took it more as excuses than an apology.
Further, some fans seemed to grumble at the fact that Williams once played at Shiloh Christian under Gus Malzahn, who is now the offensive coordinator at SEC foe Auburn. Williams appears to look up to Malzahn, according to what he wrote in his apology. Some fans also found it distasteful that Michael Dyer (all-time leading rusher in Arkansas high school football history) decided to attend Auburn on signing day.
Some fans also seemed sickened that Williams’ recruiting service apparently has Michael Dyer as a client. A video of Dyer is available from the Pinnacle Preps web site that includes some good music. The web site created for this high school kid, michaeldyer5.com, is well-done and oddly includes a Nike swoosh that links to the Nike site. Pinnacle Preps also does the web design for the Shiloh Christian football site, which is also very well done.
Some fans wonder why a five-star recruit (the highest rating) needs any help promoting himself to potential colleges.
What level of services that Dyer actually paid Pinnacle Preps, is unknown. Either party can tell me if they so choose, but private business does not have to publicly disclose its information, so we may never really know. If they want, they can send the details to fromthebench@yahoo.com .
In conclusion and if nothing else, I’d like to welcome a new player into the Springdale soap opera and thank him for providing yet another column’s worth of good material.
You can receive a 15% discount on President’s Day on my latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided” by entering the coupon code “washington” at http://www.fruitbatbooks.com/
Robert Shields
Following the escape of an Arkansas football player to an out-of-state school on national signing day, the message boards went into overdrive over a man in northwest Arkansas named Walt Williams who is the latest Springdale persona to bring drama to Razorback football. Why am I the only sports writer in the state who has tackled this subject? Good question.
For those who have better things to do than spend every moment following the recruiting wars, Williams is president of a recruiting service called Pinnacle Preps. He lit up the Razorback message boards and a couple of other SEC message boards and was mentioned on a few radio call-in shows. T. Biddy, who runs the Rivals message board and appears on “Drive Time Sports” to talk all things recruiting, was asked about Williams on the show, as was Wally Hall on the lesser-rated “Sports Animals” program.
According to Williams’ web site, Pinnacle Preps offers services for high school football players to promote their skills to college recruiters at prices billed to their parents ranging from a couple hundred dollars to a premium package of $3,000. These services can include making a web site, video package, and post cards about these gifted high school athletes.
Some fans seem to be up in arms over the idea of this business that they say pimps these high school kids. However, there is nothing illegal about it. A parent could just as easily pimp her son out by hiring some high-powered marketing firm to do the same thing. Maybe Williams can do it more cost effectively and keep the business in state, unlike the UA athletic department, which outsources its non-stop marketing e-mails to an out-of-state company.
Why a parent would ever do this is beyond me. If your kid is a major college athlete, he will be found. If a kid is of average ability, I am sure his high school coach would help in trying to place him. But that is just my opinion. For whatever reason, there seems to be a market for this service as some parents want to farm out some of their responsibilities in a period where college recruiting has gone off-the-charts crazy.
Ultimately, what got some fans fired up about Williams was that he apparently bad mouthed Razorback football coach Bobby Petrino, and that is a no-no on the Internet. Some Razorback fans took umbrage with the perceived attack on Petrino as it could be seen as a conflict of interest since he has potential recruits as his clients. (Note to Mr. Williams: Only sports writers and fans are allowed to bad mouth the coach)
Williams regretted the decision and made an apology on a message board that was not very well received. Some fans took it more as excuses than an apology.
Further, some fans seemed to grumble at the fact that Williams once played at Shiloh Christian under Gus Malzahn, who is now the offensive coordinator at SEC foe Auburn. Williams appears to look up to Malzahn, according to what he wrote in his apology. Some fans also found it distasteful that Michael Dyer (all-time leading rusher in Arkansas high school football history) decided to attend Auburn on signing day.
Some fans also seemed sickened that Williams’ recruiting service apparently has Michael Dyer as a client. A video of Dyer is available from the Pinnacle Preps web site that includes some good music. The web site created for this high school kid, michaeldyer5.com, is well-done and oddly includes a Nike swoosh that links to the Nike site. Pinnacle Preps also does the web design for the Shiloh Christian football site, which is also very well done.
Some fans wonder why a five-star recruit (the highest rating) needs any help promoting himself to potential colleges.
What level of services that Dyer actually paid Pinnacle Preps, is unknown. Either party can tell me if they so choose, but private business does not have to publicly disclose its information, so we may never really know. If they want, they can send the details to fromthebench@yahoo.com .
In conclusion and if nothing else, I’d like to welcome a new player into the Springdale soap opera and thank him for providing yet another column’s worth of good material.
You can receive a 15% discount on President’s Day on my latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided” by entering the coupon code “washington” at http://www.fruitbatbooks.com/
Monday, February 08, 2010
From the Bench
Recruitniks Don’t Make the World Go Round
Robert Shields
John Robert Starr called them Recruitniks, and last week was the culmination of a year of listening and reading about where “Johnnie My Head is Too Big” was going to college for the Recruitnik.
Why someone cares where some 17-year-old kid is going to go to college to major in something like kinesiology is beyond me, but there is a huge industry dedicated to just such an endeavor. Web sites, newsprint, and magazines dedicated time and space for this endeavor, which means there is money to be gained.
Grown men spend time calling these kids asking them where they are “leaning” this week. Then everyone waits breathlessly as the kid has a couple of hats on the table with a Longhorn or Gator on it as he fakes to pick up one, then grabs the other, and then drops it to reveal his T-shirt under his Georgetown sweatshirt has a USC Trojan mascot on it.
The reality is that for the other 99.9 percent of us, where this kid goes really will not have a bearing on your life to influence if you get a raise, keep your job, pay your bills, or feed your children. It is immaterial to you except for entertainment value, such as if the big girl that you like on “Biggest Loser” makes it another week.
It does these kids a huge disservice as they are lied to by adults promising them a scholarship only to wait by the phone to find out they are not going to be faxed a Letter of Intent. Kids then make what is called a “Commitment,” although it’s nothing even close to that word as they switch hats constantly and take paid visits from other schools.
You should never be surprised when one of these kids messes up as they have received signals that they can do whatever they want and adults and other authorities bow to their needs. How could the kid think he was anything but special and above the rules?
Now after my annual belly aching about recruiting -- and I will bypass my annual diatribe that recruiting should be ruled illegal and all athletic scholarships should be stopped and a school should actually have to field its team from its student body -- I will wade in this one time about this Razorback recruiting class. I wade into it because so many fans seem to be wringing their hands on this low-rated class by SEC standards and the fact one of the top kids in the state went to Auburn.
If this class will be good or not will have little to do with stars that the players were assigned when being recruited. What will matter the most is if this class arrives on campus intact and that they make it the four or five years.
Remember the highly regarded recruiting class of 2006? On paper it was a very good class. But some of the stars left for one reason or another and it was too heavy in receivers making it a very unbalanced group of players for future needs.
This current class, at least on paper, seems to be balanced across the board, so if it stays in tact it should add depth through the coming years. Another class like it will do the same, and thus the Hogs break the cycle of reaching and getting lots of one type of player to fill the gaps on the team. So, in that vein, I like this class.
Also, if just one of those two kickers pans out, it will change this team remarkably. The kicking game over the last several years has cost the Hogs big game after big game. If this recruiting class brings that to an end, it will be nice.
Lastly, as a fan, you have to hope these recruits from out of state also pan out. These kids were the ones that the major college in that state turned their back on for one reason or another. You have to hope that school made a mistake, and many times they do. This all happened because football in Central Arkansas was down this past year. The Hogs need Central High to have great teams not a team that loses every game over a two year span.
A final word on recruiting: Critics of Houston Nutt often complained that he wasn’t “building the fence” around the state to keep players from going elsewhere. But what I get from the new regime is that they aren’t even trying to build the fence. That can only last so long before the in-state folks start to complain that Mikey from Junction City isn’t being looked at. Maybe the only difference is that the new coach didn’t make any promises about in-state recruiting.
Send your complaints about Recruitniks to fromthebench@yahoo.com.
Relive the soap opera of Houston Nutt’s final two years in Fayetteville with my latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided,” which is now available at fruitbatbooks.com.
Robert Shields
John Robert Starr called them Recruitniks, and last week was the culmination of a year of listening and reading about where “Johnnie My Head is Too Big” was going to college for the Recruitnik.
Why someone cares where some 17-year-old kid is going to go to college to major in something like kinesiology is beyond me, but there is a huge industry dedicated to just such an endeavor. Web sites, newsprint, and magazines dedicated time and space for this endeavor, which means there is money to be gained.
Grown men spend time calling these kids asking them where they are “leaning” this week. Then everyone waits breathlessly as the kid has a couple of hats on the table with a Longhorn or Gator on it as he fakes to pick up one, then grabs the other, and then drops it to reveal his T-shirt under his Georgetown sweatshirt has a USC Trojan mascot on it.
The reality is that for the other 99.9 percent of us, where this kid goes really will not have a bearing on your life to influence if you get a raise, keep your job, pay your bills, or feed your children. It is immaterial to you except for entertainment value, such as if the big girl that you like on “Biggest Loser” makes it another week.
It does these kids a huge disservice as they are lied to by adults promising them a scholarship only to wait by the phone to find out they are not going to be faxed a Letter of Intent. Kids then make what is called a “Commitment,” although it’s nothing even close to that word as they switch hats constantly and take paid visits from other schools.
You should never be surprised when one of these kids messes up as they have received signals that they can do whatever they want and adults and other authorities bow to their needs. How could the kid think he was anything but special and above the rules?
Now after my annual belly aching about recruiting -- and I will bypass my annual diatribe that recruiting should be ruled illegal and all athletic scholarships should be stopped and a school should actually have to field its team from its student body -- I will wade in this one time about this Razorback recruiting class. I wade into it because so many fans seem to be wringing their hands on this low-rated class by SEC standards and the fact one of the top kids in the state went to Auburn.
If this class will be good or not will have little to do with stars that the players were assigned when being recruited. What will matter the most is if this class arrives on campus intact and that they make it the four or five years.
Remember the highly regarded recruiting class of 2006? On paper it was a very good class. But some of the stars left for one reason or another and it was too heavy in receivers making it a very unbalanced group of players for future needs.
This current class, at least on paper, seems to be balanced across the board, so if it stays in tact it should add depth through the coming years. Another class like it will do the same, and thus the Hogs break the cycle of reaching and getting lots of one type of player to fill the gaps on the team. So, in that vein, I like this class.
Also, if just one of those two kickers pans out, it will change this team remarkably. The kicking game over the last several years has cost the Hogs big game after big game. If this recruiting class brings that to an end, it will be nice.
Lastly, as a fan, you have to hope these recruits from out of state also pan out. These kids were the ones that the major college in that state turned their back on for one reason or another. You have to hope that school made a mistake, and many times they do. This all happened because football in Central Arkansas was down this past year. The Hogs need Central High to have great teams not a team that loses every game over a two year span.
A final word on recruiting: Critics of Houston Nutt often complained that he wasn’t “building the fence” around the state to keep players from going elsewhere. But what I get from the new regime is that they aren’t even trying to build the fence. That can only last so long before the in-state folks start to complain that Mikey from Junction City isn’t being looked at. Maybe the only difference is that the new coach didn’t make any promises about in-state recruiting.
Send your complaints about Recruitniks to fromthebench@yahoo.com.
Relive the soap opera of Houston Nutt’s final two years in Fayetteville with my latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided,” which is now available at fruitbatbooks.com.
Monday, February 01, 2010
From the Bench
Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided
FOREWARD
The absolute drama that followed Houston Nutt over his last two years as the Razorback head football coach is something that was probably unprecedented in college football history. The drama was so complex, I waited another two years before compiling this story after his departure. During this debacle, as I covered the story as it unfolded, there were times when I was right and times when I was wrong. Information on most of these topics was typically scant and thus the rumor mongering on Razorback message boards was always in the front leading the rampage and the story. I was guilty of vacillating on both sides of this fight -- and make no mistake, it was a fight. It was a fight for the soul of the program. The fan base became so fractured even the chancellor addressed that fact when Nutt finally left the Program with a $3 million payout to go coach at a competing team in the SEC.
The story starts with the recruiting of five players from the 2005 Springdale High School state championship football team coached by Gus Malzahn. Springdale had two high schools that season but merged the players into one super team. One of the five ended up at Notre Dame. The other four ended up at Arkansas, and landing those players helped Nutt keep his job for another year after the team endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2004 and 2005 that became known as Nutt's two-year pass.
The fan base had been clamoring for some time for Nutt not to call his own plays and hire an offensive coordinator. It is my strident belief Nutt never wanted to relinquish that control and it was forced change not learned change that brought Gus Malzahn to Arkansas to become the offensive coordinator. The fan base wanted to see a more wide open offense. Malzahn brought such promise. He also helped deliver four of the Springdale players that Razorback fans coveted.Rumblings started almost immediately when Malzahn entered the picture as the lines between Nutt and Malzahn were drawn not necessarily between the two men but the Razorback fan base. This discontent grew as the winning season of 2006 played out. It was probably the unhappiest a Razorback fan base could be even with the team being 10-1 at one point.
The cataclysmic event, though, occurred on December 7, 2006, when the infamous “Little League Parents Meeting,” as dubbed by the national media, took place with Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles. Again, depending on what side of the argument you fell, this meeting had different meanings. It also brought out the famous quote from Broyles that the hurry-up no-huddle offense could not be run in the SEC. This was proof positive to some Broyles had to go and that he was out of touch with modern football. Others felt Broyles was taken out of context.
As the 2006 season unfolded, many fans got disillusioned with the offense that was spectacular with future NFL players Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis when they were running, but quite frightening when the offense was trying to pass the ball. This was a clear indication to some Malzahn was not running the offense. Yet, his imprint lasted with the Wildcat formation and spread throughout college and pro football. Most credit Malzhan for this innovation. Some recognized the formation as just the old single wing.
David Lee was hired after the 2006 season to be co-offensive coordinator with Malzahn. Malzahn departed shortly after Lee’s hiring and left for Tulsa. In the end, nobody survived. I believe it aided in the retirement of Broyles. I feel it helped in the departure of Chancellor John White. I think even though he probably had nothing to do with any of it, the president of the Razorback Foundation, Chuck Dicus, was run off because of lasting repercussions. Nutt took his $3 million and left. Mitch Mustain went to USC along with Damian Williams. Andrew Norman left the team.
I tried as this story developed to get some to go on the record during those seasons. Everyone that I asked turned me down. The story that was often left in the media was typically Nutt’s side of the story as the other side remained silent for their own reasons. This left what became known as the “Darksiders” who posted on Razorback message boards filling in their side of the story. Their attack on Nutt and vigor of pursuit cannot be denied, and for better or worse, their means justified the end -- the end of Nutt at Arkansas.
The Darksiders, through Freedom of Information Act requests, uncovered many telling details. They brought to light phone records, e-mails, and text messages. This was unprecedented by a fan base to take these measures against their head coach. The story and rumor mongering also eventually involved a female news anchor, for those posting speculation on the message boards, and what her connection was to Coach Nutt.
Other information came forward in this saga from the FOI requests such as the Little League Parents meeting occurring within the same hour that a fan who was a friend of the Nutt entourage fired off a scathing e-mail to the starting freshman quarterback that was from Springdale asking him to transfer. This became known as the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail. The odd fact also existed that some of the phone records show that Nutt’s brother’s phone number was in contact with this fan’s phone number right before the Little League parents meeting and the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail fanning the conflagration of speculation.
The story took more twists with Nutt’s attorney threatening a defamation suit against one person who recovered such information about Nutt through the FOI process and his speculation he put in a letter to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.Nutt and his wife were on the evening news in Arkansas going to a conference with the person Nutt’s attorney potentially blamed of defamation. The conference involved Nutt flipping out his cell phone stating that he had asked for printouts from his provider but could not attain them. The opposing attorney asked if he could have the SIM card but was denied as Nutt slapped the phone shut. In the end, I think this show against this person turned even more fans against Nutt.
The person who met with Nutt in conference over the FOI request also faced his own challenges. His family was anonymously threatened, his flower bed was destroyed, he received nasty notes on his door and one threatened his “Yankee wife.”
The two years were as unique of a soap opera as a person could imagine in college sports. In the end, the Darksiders prevailed, and the victor often gets to write the history. I am not sure, though, that this history will ever be completely written. I have compiled my sports columns covering this saga that involved these two tumultuous years into this compendium, which I believe is a reflection of the emotion that was on the ground at that moment in time.
In my 12 years of writing my syndicated sports column, I have never seen -- nor probably will ever see again (we hope for the sake of the UA) -- a time of such upheaval in the Razorback Sports Program.
The book is available at http://www.fruitbatbooks.com/
FOREWARD
The absolute drama that followed Houston Nutt over his last two years as the Razorback head football coach is something that was probably unprecedented in college football history. The drama was so complex, I waited another two years before compiling this story after his departure. During this debacle, as I covered the story as it unfolded, there were times when I was right and times when I was wrong. Information on most of these topics was typically scant and thus the rumor mongering on Razorback message boards was always in the front leading the rampage and the story. I was guilty of vacillating on both sides of this fight -- and make no mistake, it was a fight. It was a fight for the soul of the program. The fan base became so fractured even the chancellor addressed that fact when Nutt finally left the Program with a $3 million payout to go coach at a competing team in the SEC.
The story starts with the recruiting of five players from the 2005 Springdale High School state championship football team coached by Gus Malzahn. Springdale had two high schools that season but merged the players into one super team. One of the five ended up at Notre Dame. The other four ended up at Arkansas, and landing those players helped Nutt keep his job for another year after the team endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2004 and 2005 that became known as Nutt's two-year pass.
The fan base had been clamoring for some time for Nutt not to call his own plays and hire an offensive coordinator. It is my strident belief Nutt never wanted to relinquish that control and it was forced change not learned change that brought Gus Malzahn to Arkansas to become the offensive coordinator. The fan base wanted to see a more wide open offense. Malzahn brought such promise. He also helped deliver four of the Springdale players that Razorback fans coveted.Rumblings started almost immediately when Malzahn entered the picture as the lines between Nutt and Malzahn were drawn not necessarily between the two men but the Razorback fan base. This discontent grew as the winning season of 2006 played out. It was probably the unhappiest a Razorback fan base could be even with the team being 10-1 at one point.
The cataclysmic event, though, occurred on December 7, 2006, when the infamous “Little League Parents Meeting,” as dubbed by the national media, took place with Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles. Again, depending on what side of the argument you fell, this meeting had different meanings. It also brought out the famous quote from Broyles that the hurry-up no-huddle offense could not be run in the SEC. This was proof positive to some Broyles had to go and that he was out of touch with modern football. Others felt Broyles was taken out of context.
As the 2006 season unfolded, many fans got disillusioned with the offense that was spectacular with future NFL players Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis when they were running, but quite frightening when the offense was trying to pass the ball. This was a clear indication to some Malzahn was not running the offense. Yet, his imprint lasted with the Wildcat formation and spread throughout college and pro football. Most credit Malzhan for this innovation. Some recognized the formation as just the old single wing.
David Lee was hired after the 2006 season to be co-offensive coordinator with Malzahn. Malzahn departed shortly after Lee’s hiring and left for Tulsa. In the end, nobody survived. I believe it aided in the retirement of Broyles. I feel it helped in the departure of Chancellor John White. I think even though he probably had nothing to do with any of it, the president of the Razorback Foundation, Chuck Dicus, was run off because of lasting repercussions. Nutt took his $3 million and left. Mitch Mustain went to USC along with Damian Williams. Andrew Norman left the team.
I tried as this story developed to get some to go on the record during those seasons. Everyone that I asked turned me down. The story that was often left in the media was typically Nutt’s side of the story as the other side remained silent for their own reasons. This left what became known as the “Darksiders” who posted on Razorback message boards filling in their side of the story. Their attack on Nutt and vigor of pursuit cannot be denied, and for better or worse, their means justified the end -- the end of Nutt at Arkansas.
The Darksiders, through Freedom of Information Act requests, uncovered many telling details. They brought to light phone records, e-mails, and text messages. This was unprecedented by a fan base to take these measures against their head coach. The story and rumor mongering also eventually involved a female news anchor, for those posting speculation on the message boards, and what her connection was to Coach Nutt.
Other information came forward in this saga from the FOI requests such as the Little League Parents meeting occurring within the same hour that a fan who was a friend of the Nutt entourage fired off a scathing e-mail to the starting freshman quarterback that was from Springdale asking him to transfer. This became known as the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail. The odd fact also existed that some of the phone records show that Nutt’s brother’s phone number was in contact with this fan’s phone number right before the Little League parents meeting and the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail fanning the conflagration of speculation.
The story took more twists with Nutt’s attorney threatening a defamation suit against one person who recovered such information about Nutt through the FOI process and his speculation he put in a letter to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.Nutt and his wife were on the evening news in Arkansas going to a conference with the person Nutt’s attorney potentially blamed of defamation. The conference involved Nutt flipping out his cell phone stating that he had asked for printouts from his provider but could not attain them. The opposing attorney asked if he could have the SIM card but was denied as Nutt slapped the phone shut. In the end, I think this show against this person turned even more fans against Nutt.
The person who met with Nutt in conference over the FOI request also faced his own challenges. His family was anonymously threatened, his flower bed was destroyed, he received nasty notes on his door and one threatened his “Yankee wife.”
The two years were as unique of a soap opera as a person could imagine in college sports. In the end, the Darksiders prevailed, and the victor often gets to write the history. I am not sure, though, that this history will ever be completely written. I have compiled my sports columns covering this saga that involved these two tumultuous years into this compendium, which I believe is a reflection of the emotion that was on the ground at that moment in time.
In my 12 years of writing my syndicated sports column, I have never seen -- nor probably will ever see again (we hope for the sake of the UA) -- a time of such upheaval in the Razorback Sports Program.
The book is available at http://www.fruitbatbooks.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
