UCLA Dismisses Harrick as Coach

Jim Harrick’s national-title-winning career as UCLA basketball coach ended over receipts and deceits.

On a day of separate and searing news conferences, lawyers’ warnings and comparisons to a great political scandal, Harrick was fired by UCLA on Wednesday for the circumstances surrounding a recent recruiting dinner.

Then Harrick fired back with his own fast-break charges of conspiracy and abandonment.

Serious ethical violation by a role model, or a major exaggeration by school officials who were out to get him?

“I don’t want to overstate it, but I think Watergate is analogous,” UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young said. “The breaking into the Democratic National Committee offices wasn’t that large of a crime, but what followed it is what brought down the president of the United States.”

Harrick’s sudden firing was a stunning decision that sent ripples across the national college basketball scene. Steve Lavin, a 32-year-old UCLA assistant who has never had a head coaching job, was named interim coach for a program that has won more national championships than any other school.

On Oct. 11, Harrick and Lavin held a dinner for three prospective recruits at a Westwood restaurant, and, in violation of NCAA rules, five Bruin players also attended. NCAA rules state that no more than one current student-athlete per recruit can attend such a meal, paid for by the university. UCLA declined to reveal how much money the dinner involved.

Because UCLA officials quickly reported the dinner violation and fired Harrick, the NCAA and Pac-10 conference are not expected to penalize the Bruins. Such an infraction would be considered minor and probably would have resulted in player suspensions of a few games at most.

The crucial period for early signing of recruits begins next Wednesday and lasts through Nov. 20.

On Oct. 15, when Harrick turned in the expense receipt for the meal, only three UCLA players were listed. The bill seemed high to a school official, who began an investigation, including interviews with Bruin players, Harrick and Lavin.

During the investigation, Young and Athletic Director Peter T. Dalis said, Harrick lied to Dalis and other officials several times, and apparently tried to get Lavin to mislead the officials also.

Wednesday afternoon, Young said the decision to fire Harrick was painful, but the only one possible in light of Harrick’s actions and attempts at a cover-up.

Later, at his lawyer’s Beverly Hills office, Harrick conceded that he had lied to his superiors about a potential violation.

But Harrick said that being fired only two weeks before the start of his ninth season as Bruin coach was a punishment that “far outweighed the crime by mountains and miles.”

At least two of his players, senior forwards Charles O’Bannon and Bob Myers, said that the general team mood was one of shock and anger over the harsh penalty.

“I would expect that reaction from the players,” Dalis said.

Harrick, 58, charged that a few UCLA athletic department officials had been trying to get him fired for years and finally got their wish.

“I’ll call it a witch hunt, that’s what it is,” said Harrick’s lawyer, Robert K. Tanenbaum. “It’s clear they had planned this for some time.”

Dalis said Lavin has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the meal matter. Lavin had no comment on the issue.

The dinner-receipt investigation came after a controversy over the selling of a car owned by Harrick to Lisa Hodoh, older sister of Santa Monica Crossroads High School senior Baron Davis. Harrick’s youngest son, Glenn, said he sold the car to Hodoh without his father’s knowledge.

Davis orally committed to UCLA on Sept. 18; the 1991 Chevy Blazer was sold Sept. 20.

Though the Pacific 10 Conference found that Davis and Hodoh had received no extra benefits from the sale, which would have been an NCAA violation, those close to Harrick say that experience set the stage for the final controversy.

Dalis said that he was angry with Harrick for not reporting the potential violation as soon as he heard about it--about two days after the sale.

“No question, that started this,” said Jim Harrick Jr., who was at his father’s side at the news conference. “That brought up the word ‘lie’ for the first time, I think. And from there, it’s snowballed the last two weeks.”

Harrick Jr. said that Glenn was deeply upset by the situation. “Sure he is,” Harrick Jr. said, “because he feels responsible for starting the snowball rolling.”

Young, however, said the Davis incident played no part in Harrick’s firing. Young said that Harrick was being fired with cause, and would not be paid the balance of his contract, which was to run through the 1999-2000 season and had a base salary of about $400,000 a season.

Harrick was offered the chance to resign, Young said, and would have been paid for the duration of this season had he accepted.

Harrick and Tanenbaum left open the possibility that Harrick would file a lawsuit for the money left in his contract, and Young said he would not be surprised if Harrick sued the school.

Harrick pointed to the eight consecutive 20-win seasons, the eight NCAA tournament appearances, the national title in 1995, and, until recently, his spotless ethical record as something that should not be trashed by a single error in judgment.

“You have to get things right,” Harrick said, who admitted lying to Dalis when first questioned about the dinner. “I made a mistake. I needed to use better judgment. [But] to me, I didn’t think it was a very big deal.”

Young was not in agreement: “That’s a very serious infraction, unethical conduct.” In a prepared statement, Young said that “Harrick conducted himself in a manner that was inconsistent with his position as a role model to students, where ethical behavior is so important.”

The statement continued: “We are grateful to Coach Harrick for his many contributions to our basketball program. But we cannot allow a winning record to cause us to overlook such an ethical breach.”

Harrick and Tanenbaum claimed that certain UCLA officials have been trying to get rid of Harrick for years, and, in the wake of the Davis controversy, used the latest flap to convince Dalis and Young once and for all.

“I would say probably a couple of guys in the athletic department,” Harrick said, when asked who was behind his firing. “I’m speculating, but probably two. But he specifically said Dalis was not one of them.

Harrick said that the receipt issue is a red herring. UCLA has suspended the two players who were not originally included on the expense report, but Harrick said the players already had made restitution for the dinners and are expected to be reinstated immediately.

“They’re using this,” Harrick said. “They had taken care of that a while ago.”

Both Dalis and Harrick said they had argued at times, but Dalis said it was the normal friction between any coach and athletic director.

“I would say we had philosophical differences,” Harrick said. “Maybe I didn’t get the support I deserved. You hope, certainly, to be treated a little better.”

Harrick said that some officials had been falsely spreading rumors that he had been or was about to be hit with several sexual harassment charges. “Absolutely unfounded,” Harrick said of the rumors. Harrick did not comment further on that issue.

Young said he made the decision to fire Harrick last Friday, considered it over the weekend, then made the final decision Monday. On Tuesday evening, Harrick was called into Young’s office after practice, and Young told him he could either quit or be fired.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think Chancellor Young would go along with something like this,” said Harrick, who said he felt like he had been hit “with a 2-by-4” when Young gave him the ultimatum.

Harrick said he would have agreed at that point to leave once the season was over. But he was turned down, he said.

“I told them I wanted to be their basketball coach as long as they wanted me to be,” Harrick said. “If they didn’t want me to be their coach, that’s their choice.”

Tanenbaum said he asked UCLA on Wednesday to delay the news conference and hold a disciplinary hearing to give Harrick a chance to respond to the charges, but the request was denied.

“In coaching, we all have bullets fired at us,” Harrick said. “Some miss, some land.”

Lavin met with the team early Wednesday, and later with players individually. He then canceled the afternoon practice. The annual intrasquad game is scheduled for tonight at Pauley Pavilion.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like to go out there and not have Coach Harrick yelling,” said senior point guard Cameron Dollar. “I don’t know how I’m going to react to that.”

* IMPACT ON TEAM: Jim Harrick’s firing could make it very difficult for the Bruins to live up expectations for this season and beyond. C1