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Interesting Article on a Recruits visit to Univ of Oregon

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by Hub, Feb 7, 2003.

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Hub Founding Member

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Copied off of the Stockton, CA, newspaper website:

Recruit's tales sour parents on Oregon

By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
Published Thursday, February 6, 2003

Lynell Hamilton's trip to the University of Oregon on Oct. 18 went woefully astray after a limousine and a Leer jet steered the 17-year-old Edison High School senior into the unsavory side of college football's recruiting war.

Hamilton returned from Oregon with stories of sex, drugs and drinking that startled his inquisitive parents and ultimately helped shape the stunning decision they made to send their son to San Diego State instead of Oregon, the school he most wanted to attend.

"Oregon was my No. 1 choice," Hamilton said. "But they blew it for both of us."

A courtship that started when Hamilton was a freshman ended with bad feelings and allegations of illicit behavior within the Oregon football program.

"It basically made our decision easy for us," said Hamilton's father, Leo. "There are lots of other things you can do without going some place where they're drinking and smoking marijuana. These are things we've worked very hard to keep away from our son. And remember, the young men who are going on these trips in most cases are minors. You shouldn't have to use those lures to influence kids."

* * *

It was a Friday night and the lights all seemed to shine on Hamilton as he made his way out of the football stadium at Edison High School.

A large crowd gathered around a shiny black 2003 Lincoln Towncar, creating a buzz as Hamilton made his way to the scene. People cheered as Hamilton ducked into the waiting lim

ousine and was whisked away to Stockton Metropolitan Airport, where a jet owned by Oregon alumnus and Nike founder Phil Knight was waiting to fly Hamilton into Eugene, Ore.

College football was rolling out the red carpet for Hamilton, a blue-chip recruit with speed, power and versatility. He had ripped through the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the Northern California Nike combine at Stanford last summer and received dozens of scholarship offers from schools such as Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, USC and Colorado.

Hamilton made official visits to five colleges -- Oregon, Michigan, Colorado, Alabama A&M and San Diego State. He said sex, drugs and alcohol were optional forms of entertainment that recruits were exposed to at every stop along the way.

"Every trip I went on, sex, drinking, drugs, they were all available to me," Hamilton said. "I didn't do it because that's not who I am. I'm a Christian. God was with me on those trips."

Hamilton's parents believe him.

They believe him when he says he was escorted to an apartment where people were drinking and smoking marijuana.

They believe him when he says he walked from a nightclub to his hotel because his driver that night, an Oregon player, had been drinking.

They believe him when he says he was placed in a situation where a girl offered to have sex with him. ::: Advertisement :::

Hamilton's parents also believe their son when he says he resisted temptation at every turn, but that doesn't mean they approve of what went on in Oregon.

"Lynell said no, but he never should have been in a situation where he had to make that decision," Leo Hamilton said.

Leo and Veronica Hamilton said they knew their son would see college life from all angles, but their outrage over the Oregon trip stemmed from what they say was shoddy supervision.

College coaches say they assign players to "host" recruits when the recruit is away from the coaching staff during official visits.

Hamilton's assigned host that weekend was Oregon running back Onterrio Smith.

Smith left Oregon after announcing his intentions to enter April's NFL Draft and could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts to reach him by phone and through his management agency.

Hamilton's parents said they believe their son's host in Oregon should have done a better supervisory job.

"You've got to pick a host who has better judgment," Leo Hamilton said. "It's your responsibility as a school to make sure those things don't happen."

Leo Hamilton expressed his displeasure during a telephone conversation with Oregon coach Mike Bellotti shortly after his son's trip in October. Bellotti promised to investigate, but the Hamiltons said he never contacted them with his findings.

According to Bellotti, his coaching staff looked into the accusations and found nothing to substantiate Lynell Hamilton's claims of marijuana use.

"I don't know if it happened or didn't happen, but we talked to everyone involved and no one mentioned marijuana," Bellotti said. "There may have been drinking, but that goes on at every college campus every Friday and Saturday night. On that particular day we had a game, and I would assume that there are parties players go to after a game. If they're 21, it's their choice if they want to drink. I don't know if other recruits or other students who were underage were drinking or not."

Oregon athletic director Bill Moos said a number of points remain unclear, but he says he's satisfied with the findings from the internal investigation.

"In a number of instances -- those events that may be in question -- we could not be sure," Moos said. "There may have been a situation that was not in line with what we want in a recruiting visit.

"We conducted the investigation to see if it was true. I'm not going to say what conclusions we might have come to, but we did look into it."

Citing student privacy laws, Moos said he had been advised by legal counsel against commenting on specific players who might have used marijuana.

"These are privacy issues that we're not able to discuss because they have to do with current student athletes and prospective student athletes," Moos said. "Our counsel has instructed us not to get into any details on these things because of privacy issues."

Bellotti also declined comment on any specific players, but he did acknowledge the conversation he had with the Hamiltons.

"I talked to the recruit's parents and I talked to the recruit himself," Bellotti said. "I said at that time that if anything happened -- if it happened -- I apologize."

***

Hamilton startled his parents when he returned from Oregon on Oct. 20 with his stories of sex, drugs and alcohol.

He had similar tales to tell about each of the five college campuses he visited, but his parents said two were far less disturbing than the others.

"There were only two trips that were conducted in the manner in which they should have been conducted -- San Diego State and Alabama A&M," Leo Hamilton said.

Lynell Hamilton didn't hide what he had seen from his parents.

"This is a very religious family, and they pride themselves on being honest with each other," Edison High School coach Booker Guyton said. "For a 17-year-old kid to be exposed to the things Lynell was exposed to on this recruiting trip and come back and be perfectly honest with his parents, well, that's commendable."

Hamilton's parents decided to step in and take an overriding role in the decision-making process. They looked at the schools. They looked at the coaches. They listened to their son. And they made a decision.

San Diego State.

"I was upset that I couldn't make the decision for myself," Hamilton said. "But I'm OK with it now. I'm 100 percent committed to San Diego State."

College football rolled out the red carpet for the blue-chip recruit from Stockton. What he found at the other end stunned his parents and ultimately helped shape the shocking decision they made to send their son to San Diego State instead of Oregon, the school he most wanted to attend.

"It's like that for big recruits," Hamilton said. "Big time schools will do anything to get you. They're going to throw girls at you. They're going to throw the drugs and the liquor at you. You have to determine what kind of person you are and stand on your own feet. Even when you get older, temptation is going to be out there. You've just got to stand for what you believe in."
Click to expand...

Hub, Feb 7, 2003

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MikeD Sports Genius

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Using the private jet of a booster doesn't seem NCAA-legal to me. And where do I sign up for one of these recruiting trips?

MikeD, Feb 7, 2003

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Jetstorm Founding Member

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I certainly hope none of this goes on at LSU, at least not to the extent at Oregon. I know a lot of colleges that are like that, and temptation will be everywhere, but it doesn't need to be like that. Not here. Not anywhere. I'm certainly glad this kid made the right decision for him and his family. The private-jet thing does sound fishy as well. While he said stuff about this, the article didn't mention anything about him being offered money or cars or stuff by the school. Maybe schools have had to get "creative" with reward inducements since the NCAA has shut off other sources.

Jetstorm, Feb 7, 2003

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EliteLSU1 Founding Member

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If I can Just...

trim off 6 seconds off of my 40 yard dash time i can be a big time recruit. I already have the size.

EliteLSU1, Feb 7, 2003

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Graytiger Freshman

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Sex, drugs, rock & roll

And a 17 year old kid turns it down? I'm having a hard time believing that.

Graytiger, Feb 7, 2003

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Jetstorm Founding Member

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Not all kids do that stuff man. I certainly didn't when I was 17. But I grew up in Bible Belt country (North Louisiana). So I guess I'm different.

Jetstorm, Feb 7, 2003

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TomyDingo Founding Member

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Re: Sex, drugs, rock & roll

Originally posted by Graytiger
And a 17 year old kid turns it down? I'm having a hard time believing that.
Click to expand...

hey man, i'm straight edge(no drugs, no alcohol, no sex) and I'm 20, i've been like this for awhile now. This kid seems like a smart person and chose not to do any of those things. Not all teens are out drinking, doing drugs and have sex.

TomyDingo, Feb 7, 2003

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dallastigers Founding Member

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There are some great kids out there. Better at that age than I ever thought about being. Not just the sex, drugs, and rock and roll stuff, but also helping their community, their elders, and their fellow students ... etc. They just do not make the headlines as much as the others.

dallastigers, Feb 8, 2003

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TennesseeTiger Founding Member

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Re: Sex, drugs, rock & roll

Originally posted by Graytiger
And a 17 year old kid turns it down? I'm having a hard time believing that.
Click to expand...

Every teen isn't like the ones you see in movies and on TV. I was a virgin when I married at 26...and I'm quite proud of it. I also don't drink and the only drugs I've ever used were prescribed by a doctor for a legitimate illness.

America's youth aren't hopeless...they're just portrayed that way in the media.

TennesseeTiger, Feb 8, 2003

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TennesseeTiger Founding Member

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Originally posted by dallastigers
There are some great kids out there. Better at that age than I ever thought about being. Not just the sex, drugs, and rock and roll stuff, but also helping their community, their elders, and their fellow students ... etc. They just do not make the headlines as much as the others.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sell papers or ad time on the news. The sensational stuff does, though. Sadly.

TennesseeTiger, Feb 8, 2003

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