Univ Minn Recruit Bails Over Strip Clubs
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:17 amWed, Jan. 28, 2004
Strip-club trip costs U- Minn a recruit
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Pioneer Press - TwinCities.com
The University of Minnesota's most celebrated football recruit this year said he backed out of his commitment to the school because a number of Gophers players took him and three other recruits — one of whom was underage — to a strip club during his official recruiting trip last month, a practice that apparently happened at least twice after that.
Lydon Murtha's trip to the club during the weekend of Dec. 5 was enough to "shock" him and contribute to his doubts about whether the U was the right place for him.
"I'm not into that kind of stuff," said Murtha, an offensive lineman from Hutchinson, Minn., who added that he will attend the University of Nebraska instead.
The recruits went to the Deja Vu Nightclub, 315 Washington Ave. N., an 18-and-older strip club that does not serve alcohol, with a group of "less than 20" Gophers players, said Wayzata's Dominique Barber. Barber said he was there with fellow recruits Murtha, Hopkins' Johnny Carlson and Jack Simmons of Mundelein, Ill. Carlson confirmed he was there. Simmons was unavailable for comment.
Barber, a sought-after running back, is 17 years old. .
Murtha's Hutchinson teammate, Tony Mortensen, said he went to the same strip club during his official university visit the following weekend.
Another recruit, who requested anonymity, said he also went to a strip club on his recruiting trip in January, but that participation was up to each recruit.
Gophers head coach Glen Mason, on the road recruiting, was unavailable for comment. Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi said he will look into the practice of taking recruits to strip clubs and try to find a way to prevent it from happening in the future. Maturi said he did not think there was a policy, in writing, against going to strip clubs, but he feels that should be an understood rule. "That'd be like saying, 'Don't go rob a bank,' " Maturi said.
That one of the recruits was underage was particularly troubling to Maturi.
"Well, that's a concern now," he said. "Does he have a fake ID? Did we provide him one? Did the people at the club? There's lots of issues here. … I'm first concerned what our student-athletes are thinking of when they do this . Now, in essence, we jeopardized a recruit to being arrested. It's going back to what Glen says: 'Don't put yourselves in jeopardy, don't put the university in jeopardy, don't put the kids in jeopardy.' They didn't listen real well."
Whether taking a recruit to a strip club constitutes an NCAA violation would be subject to interpretation under bylaw 13.5.2 for "excessive entertainment," which states that a "member institution may not arrange or permit excessive entertainment of a prospect on campus or elsewhere." The bylaw gives examples of limousine or helicopter rides, or hiring a band to perform for recruits, as examples. NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes said she could not speculate on whether a trip to a strip club would be a violation.
NCAA rules allow hosts $30 a day for entertaining their recruits, Hawes said. It is unclear whether using that money for entrance to a strip club falls under the "excessive entertainment" violation. Carlson said he paid his way into the club. Mortensen said he did not pay his way in and said he didn't know who paid for him.
Gophers assistant head coach Moe Ankney said Mason specifically told current Gophers players before official visits began in December that strip clubs were a definite "don't" when acting as recruiting hosts.
"I sit in the meeting, and our policy is we don't condone that, and Coach Mason doesn't condone that," Ankney said.
Ankney said he has not heard of players taking recruits to a strip club in his three years on the Minnesota staff. He said he could not speculate on any discipline for players involved.
"(Mason will) have to see what happened and take appropriate action when he does," he said.
When asked to comment about going to the club when he was underage, Barber hung up the phone. Mike Gabrysiak, general manager at Deja Vu, said "Everyone that enters the establishment must be 18 or over. Anyone that enters the door must have a valid ID. If they don't have that, they're asked to leave the property right away.''
He said he doesn't remember any Gophers football players coming in last month and that the club has no special relationship with the university.
Deja Vu's unofficial motto is "Ladies Dance Until They're Nude." There is an $8 cover charge and an $8 bottomless, nonalcoholic drink. Deja Vu's parent company also owns DreamGirls on North Fifth Street in Minneapolis, along with a several dozen clubs in California, 14 other states, Canada and France.
Murtha, a consensus top-50 recruit nationally, had orally committed to the Gophers during his junior year, but that commitment is not binding. He said, "The Gophers did a lot of good things for me," but he decided to visit Nebraska last weekend. He said he did not attend any strip clubs there and felt more comfortable with the situation.
"He just told me he had the best time he ever had (on his visit)," said Hutchinson teammate Tony Mortensen, a Gophers commitment and former friend who said he is "upset" with Murtha for how he dealt with the recruiting process. "So I just think this is a bunch of B.S."
Recruits are permitted five paid visits to five different schools. Generally, official visits are a chance for the recruit to get to know the campus and socialize with players.
According to recruiting analyst Allen Wallace of SuperPrep, trips to strip clubs for recruits probably aren't common, "but I'm sure it happens."
Before Murtha backed out, recruiting expert Tom Lemming had ranked the Gophers' recruiting class in his national top 25.
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Lenora Chu contributed to this report. Brian Hamilton covers University of Minnesota football. He can be reached at [email protected].
Complete Story - Url Link
Strip-club trip costs U- Minn a recruit
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Pioneer Press - TwinCities.com
The University of Minnesota's most celebrated football recruit this year said he backed out of his commitment to the school because a number of Gophers players took him and three other recruits — one of whom was underage — to a strip club during his official recruiting trip last month, a practice that apparently happened at least twice after that.
Lydon Murtha's trip to the club during the weekend of Dec. 5 was enough to "shock" him and contribute to his doubts about whether the U was the right place for him.
"I'm not into that kind of stuff," said Murtha, an offensive lineman from Hutchinson, Minn., who added that he will attend the University of Nebraska instead.
The recruits went to the Deja Vu Nightclub, 315 Washington Ave. N., an 18-and-older strip club that does not serve alcohol, with a group of "less than 20" Gophers players, said Wayzata's Dominique Barber. Barber said he was there with fellow recruits Murtha, Hopkins' Johnny Carlson and Jack Simmons of Mundelein, Ill. Carlson confirmed he was there. Simmons was unavailable for comment.
Barber, a sought-after running back, is 17 years old. .
Murtha's Hutchinson teammate, Tony Mortensen, said he went to the same strip club during his official university visit the following weekend.
Another recruit, who requested anonymity, said he also went to a strip club on his recruiting trip in January, but that participation was up to each recruit.
Gophers head coach Glen Mason, on the road recruiting, was unavailable for comment. Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi said he will look into the practice of taking recruits to strip clubs and try to find a way to prevent it from happening in the future. Maturi said he did not think there was a policy, in writing, against going to strip clubs, but he feels that should be an understood rule. "That'd be like saying, 'Don't go rob a bank,' " Maturi said.
That one of the recruits was underage was particularly troubling to Maturi.
"Well, that's a concern now," he said. "Does he have a fake ID? Did we provide him one? Did the people at the club? There's lots of issues here. … I'm first concerned what our student-athletes are thinking of when they do this . Now, in essence, we jeopardized a recruit to being arrested. It's going back to what Glen says: 'Don't put yourselves in jeopardy, don't put the university in jeopardy, don't put the kids in jeopardy.' They didn't listen real well."
Whether taking a recruit to a strip club constitutes an NCAA violation would be subject to interpretation under bylaw 13.5.2 for "excessive entertainment," which states that a "member institution may not arrange or permit excessive entertainment of a prospect on campus or elsewhere." The bylaw gives examples of limousine or helicopter rides, or hiring a band to perform for recruits, as examples. NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes said she could not speculate on whether a trip to a strip club would be a violation.
NCAA rules allow hosts $30 a day for entertaining their recruits, Hawes said. It is unclear whether using that money for entrance to a strip club falls under the "excessive entertainment" violation. Carlson said he paid his way into the club. Mortensen said he did not pay his way in and said he didn't know who paid for him.
Gophers assistant head coach Moe Ankney said Mason specifically told current Gophers players before official visits began in December that strip clubs were a definite "don't" when acting as recruiting hosts.
"I sit in the meeting, and our policy is we don't condone that, and Coach Mason doesn't condone that," Ankney said.
Ankney said he has not heard of players taking recruits to a strip club in his three years on the Minnesota staff. He said he could not speculate on any discipline for players involved.
"(Mason will) have to see what happened and take appropriate action when he does," he said.
When asked to comment about going to the club when he was underage, Barber hung up the phone. Mike Gabrysiak, general manager at Deja Vu, said "Everyone that enters the establishment must be 18 or over. Anyone that enters the door must have a valid ID. If they don't have that, they're asked to leave the property right away.''
He said he doesn't remember any Gophers football players coming in last month and that the club has no special relationship with the university.
Deja Vu's unofficial motto is "Ladies Dance Until They're Nude." There is an $8 cover charge and an $8 bottomless, nonalcoholic drink. Deja Vu's parent company also owns DreamGirls on North Fifth Street in Minneapolis, along with a several dozen clubs in California, 14 other states, Canada and France.
Murtha, a consensus top-50 recruit nationally, had orally committed to the Gophers during his junior year, but that commitment is not binding. He said, "The Gophers did a lot of good things for me," but he decided to visit Nebraska last weekend. He said he did not attend any strip clubs there and felt more comfortable with the situation.
"He just told me he had the best time he ever had (on his visit)," said Hutchinson teammate Tony Mortensen, a Gophers commitment and former friend who said he is "upset" with Murtha for how he dealt with the recruiting process. "So I just think this is a bunch of B.S."
Recruits are permitted five paid visits to five different schools. Generally, official visits are a chance for the recruit to get to know the campus and socialize with players.
According to recruiting analyst Allen Wallace of SuperPrep, trips to strip clubs for recruits probably aren't common, "but I'm sure it happens."
Before Murtha backed out, recruiting expert Tom Lemming had ranked the Gophers' recruiting class in his national top 25.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lenora Chu contributed to this report. Brian Hamilton covers University of Minnesota football. He can be reached at [email protected].
Complete Story - Url Link