NCAA official: FSU ruling sets precedent
August 21, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)—A top official at the NCAA said a court ruling Thursdaythat documents dealing with cheating at Florida State are public records sets aprecedent that will “rip the heart out of the NCAA” and its efforts to ensurecompetition is fair and equal.
David Berst, the NCAA’s vice president for Division I, said few witnessesother than school officials and employees would be willing to tell what theyknow about cheating, whether in recruiting, academics or other areas, withoutthe promise of confidentiality.
“We could see copycat efforts in other states,” Berst said. “Yes, Ibelieve that would rip the heart out of the NCAA.”
His comments from the witness stand came soon after Circuit Judge JohnCooper rejected the NCAA’s claim that the documents in the Florida State caseare not public.
The Associated Press and other media outlets had sued to get the records onthe college athletics governing body’s plan to strip coaches and athletes ofwins in 10 sports.
That includes football coach Bobby Bowden, who could lose 14 victories.Bowden’s chances of overtaking Penn State’s Joe Paterno as major collegefootball’s winningest coach would dim if the NCAA rejects an appeal of thatpenalty. Paterno has 383 victories—one more than Bowden.
Florida law says records are public if they are “received” by a stateagency. The NCAA claimed the Florida State documents were not because the schoolnever physically possessed the documents in paper or electronic form.
Instead, the NCAA posted them on a secure read-only Web site that could beaccessed by the law firm Florida State had hired for its appeal. Schoolofficials also could have gone to NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis to take alook at the documents.
Cooper rejected the argument.
After Berst’s testimony, he rejected the NCAA’s claim that even if thedocuments are public records they should not be released because that wouldviolate free association, contract and interstate commerce rights under the U.S.Constitution.
The judge also found that making the documents public would violate neitherstate nor federal laws guarding the confidentially of student academic records.He made that ruling after privately reading copies of two documents being soughtthat had student names blacked out.
Media lawyer Carol Jean LoCicero in arguing to obtain the Florida Staterecords cited a 1990 appellate court ruling that St. Petersburg and the ChicagoWhite Sox violated the public records law through a scheme to hide documents onthe team’s possible move to Florida. The papers were sent to a local law firmwhere they could be viewed by city officials and attorneys.
That was little different from what the NCAA and Florida State did, LoCicerosaid.
“Everything was done except touch a piece of paper,” she said. “You don’thave to touch a piece of paper to receive a document.”
Cooper agreed, ruling that viewing the NCAA documents on a computer screenwas the same as receiving them.