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Saturday, April 05, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

When dealing with Penn State football players who have been accused of crimes in the past four years, Coach Joe Paterno has been consistent. He has allowed the legal system to determine a player's innocence or guilt before considering disciplinary action.

But the most recent case, an allegation of sexual assault, has created a stir. Some in the campus community are at a loss to understand Paterno's decision to play freshman defensive back Anwar Phillips in the Capital One Bowl three weeks after he accepted a two-semester expulsion from the university's office of judicial affairs after a female student accused him of assaulting her on campus in November.

The criticism was so loud and persistent that university President Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley issued statements late this week defending the decision to play Phillips. While the university's internal justice system has acted, Phillips still faces state trial. He was arraigned March 20 on charges of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.

Spanier said the university "handled it reasonably well, even though there may have been some miscommunication. ... I don't think the issue is so much the judicial affairs process as what was learned in athletics and how they -- the decisions they made."

"We will let the legal system proceed and react accordingly once it is resolved," Curley said. "A decision about Mr. Phillips' status on the team will be made after a final determination is made in the legal system."

It is the same stance Paterno and the athletic department took in the highly publicized cases of quarterback Rashard Casey, tight end R.J. Luke and linebacker T.C. Cosby in recent years. Casey was accused of assaulting of an off-duty police officer in May 2000 outside of a nightclub in Hoboken, N.J. Amid cries for a suspension of Casey, Paterno gathered information about the case and decided against suspension. Casey was never tried because a grand jury declined to indict him.

Luke and Cosby were acquitted by a jury last spring after being charged with aggravated assault after a fight outside of a fraternity house in the summer of 2001.

The case against Phillips is set to go to trial this summer. He accepted school punishment, and a police report states that he admitted to having intercourse with the alleged victim and stated that he did not think that she wanted to have sex.

Phillips' attorney, Tony DeBoef, said Phillips is looking forward to his day in court.

"In a criminal case you're only getting one side of the story," said DeBoef, who has represented several Penn State athletes in cases the past few years, including Cosby and wrestler Jean Celestin, who was convicted of sexual assault. "There's a lot to every case that gets unfolded as the case develops."

University spokesman Bill Mahon said federal law prohibits details from the judicial affairs meeting to be made public. He said the school can only release the name of the punished and the extent of the punishment. All other details from the meeting cannot be released.

But sources who did not wish to be identified provided some details.

Phillips was called before the office of judicial affairs Dec. 12 for a meeting with a judicial affairs officer. At the meeting, Phillips was told he could accept the two-semester expulsion or be granted a hearing. He was told at that time that the punishment could be more harsh after the hearing. Without representation from a lawyer or parental guidance, Phillips accepted the two-semester expulsion.

"Sometimes you don't have to admit anything and you can accept punishment because it seems prudent to do so," DeBoef said. "He never accepted responsibility [for the sexual assault]. He accepted responsibility for the punishment without admitting guilt. He accepted punishment at an administrative conference. He's looking forward to telling his side of the story. We are innocent until proven guilty in this country."

Of more consequence is the police report. DeBoef has requested permission to listen to police tapes of the interview and expects to have the tapes soon.

"No one has heard the tape," he said. "There are many cases across the country where someone allegedly confesses and then it turns out that it is significantly different from a confession. Confessions at this point may not be all that they seem. We don't have all the evidence."

Phillips also has told Penn State officials that he and his accuser had had a sexual relationship before the incident that led to the charges.

Penn State athletic officials were aware of the university's punishment of Phillips shortly after his December hearing, but it remains unclear how much of the case they knew before a decision was made to play Phillips in the bowl game. When the winter semester began in January, Penn State's sports information office said Phillips was not in school for "personal reasons." Coaches indicated he could return to the team by the fall.

Phillips, of Germantown, Md., is a nickel back and was on the field for about 20 plays in the bowl game. Penn State's opponent in the Capital One Bowl was Auburn, a running team that passed only 17 times that game. He was not an important player for the team on that day, which has begged the question from those hounding Paterno: "Why not hold him out?"

"What do we do, presume he's guilty?" asked one source within the athletic department.

Phillips has returned home and is working out under the guidance of his high school coach, Randy Trivers. Phillips entered Northwest High School as a sophomore with a 2.0 grade point average. By the time he graduated he was almost a 4.0 student, according to Trivers, who added that Phillips was never in any trouble in high school.

Phillips will have a pretrial hearing May 22. Jury selection is scheduled for June 9. Between now and then, Paterno and Penn State's decision will likely continue to be questioned.

Damage was done to the football program's reputation just as it was when he stood behind Casey in 2000. Paterno was vindicated in that instance.

One thing is certain: A court case will hang over the program for the third time in four years this spring.