Cottrell accuses judge of bias

[quietfan 233]

Hey, boys and girls!: The circus is back in town!

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/birmingh....xml&coll=2

Attorneys for Ronnie Cottrell on Wednesday accused Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Steve Wilson of interfering in their Alabama Supreme Court appeal on behalf of the NCAA.

They also said Wilson, who threw out a $30 million judgment against Tom Culpepper in favor of Cottrell and dismissed the NCAA as a defendant in the lawsuit, had improper contact with NCAA attorneys during the 2005 trial.

The attorneys sent a strongly worded letter to the Supreme Court in response to Wilson's May 4 letter to the court in which he said he wanted to clarify an order he made that is now part of the appeal.

The court heard oral arguments on May 1 regarding several issues, including whether Cottrell was entitled to a jury trial to determine if an indemnity agreement between the NCAA and Culpepper was meant to cover the damages awarded by the Tuscaloosa jury.

Wilson also sent an order to the court intending to clarify his order regarding the indemnity agreement. He said his original order was intended to say that only punitive damages couldn't be covered by the indemnity agreement. His original order did not address whether compensatory damages could be, he said.

In a letter to the Supreme Court, Cottrell's attorneys said they were "seriously concerned that the NCAA, having exhausted the normal appellate procedures, has enlisted the cooperation of Judge Wilson in making yet another argument as to why there should not be a jury trial on the effect of the indemnity agreement."

Attorneys Thomas Gallion, William Slaughter and Delaine Mountain included in their letter a copy of what they called a "crib sheet" prepared by NCAA attorneys that listed reasons why Wilson should have dismissed the NCAA as a defendant in the lawsuit in a summary judgment.

Mountain said the brief, entitled "Overview of NCAA defendants' reasons why summary judgment is appropriate" and submitted under the names of Tuscaloosa attorney James J. Jenkins and Birmingham attorneys Robert Rutherford and John C. Morrow, was never provided to the plaintiffs during the trial.

He said it was discovered by a member of the Cottrell legal team when more than 15,000 pages of documents were being prepared by the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court to ship to the Supreme Court.

Rutherford said he had not seen the letter from the Cottrell attorneys, but said the NCAA did not have any private, unethical contact with Wilson.

"There is no basis to claim we had any ex parte meeting with Judge Wilson," he said of the assertion of a meeting of just one party to the lawsuit. "There were no ex parte conferences that I was involved in or that I'm aware that Jim Jenkins or John Morrow were involved in."

Rutherford said the overview submitted to Wilson regarding summary judgment was "nothing new. It's just a summary of points already made in briefs and they already have all the briefs. It was kind of an executive summary given to the judge.

"I thought copies were given to the plaintiffs. I would assume we gave it to the other side. If we didn't, I'm sorry."

Cottrell's attorneys also argue in the letter that Wilson could no longer enter an order in the case since the law allows only one court - now the Supreme Court - jurisdiction in an ongoing case.

Cottrell's appeal asks for Wilson's disqualification if the Supreme Court agrees to a new trial.

Mountain also said Wilson misrepresented statements made by Cottrell's team during a November 2005 hearing on the indemnity agreement.

"Wilson said the plaintiffs agreed that punitive damages wouldn't be covered by the indemnity agreement," he said. "That absolutely was not the case. We said as a general rule indemnity agreements don't apply, but we said we would have to look at it before we could determine it if applied or not.

"Once we got the document, it was very clear it does apply. It says it covers any and all judgments and that includes punitive damages."

[WinCrimson 61]

Biased? That's an understatement.

Know that Cottrell's case has nothing to do with UA or our punishment. It has to do with the outright character assassination of a good man. Ronnie Cottrell went from being an assistant coach at Alabama (and previously FSU) to coaching high school football in Ozark. Ivy Williams? He's at a D-III directional school in Nowhere, Oklahoma. He went from being Shaun Alexander's coach to selling cell phones in a matter of months. Both men had their names raked through the mud over sins they didn't commit!

Even though the NCAA released a half assed notice of clearance for both men, it doesn't change the fact that their careers have been chokeslammed. Imagine being turned down for a higher job for something you didn't even do? Cottrell and Williams are essentially serving life without parole sentences in regards to their careers.

[GalensGhost 0]

Biased? That's an understatement.

Know that Cottrell's case has nothing to do with UA or our punishment. It has to do with the outright character assassination of a good man. Ronnie Cottrell went from being an assistant coach at Alabama (and previously FSU) to coaching high school football in Ozark. Ivy Williams? He's at a D-III directional school in Nowhere, Oklahoma. He went from being Shaun Alexander's coach to selling cell phones in a matter of months. Both men had their names raked through the mud over sins they didn't commit!

Your frantic hyperbole is noted. As is the slew of incorrect assumptions in your plea. Neither Cottrell nor Williams were innocent little lambs cruelly maimed by the Big Bad NCAAwolf.

[WinCrimson 61]

Make something stick to them.

I hope you've got a lot of time on your hands.

[aumd03 2]

$6 mil in compensatory damages? excuse me? thats 30 years at $200K a year which I doubt he would make. Some of these civil judgements are insane. If he was innocent, why are schools staying away from him? If he were a good enough coach worth taking a risk on, someone would hire him. Maybe it was just he wasn't that good of a coach. Maybe he's got Dubose syndrome. He made it out of Luverne yet?

[runswithscissors 33]

$6 mil in compensatory damages? excuse me? thats 30 years at $200K a year which I doubt he would make. Some of these civil judgements are insane. If he was innocent, why are schools staying away from him? If he were a good enough coach worth taking a risk on, someone would hire him. Maybe it was just he wasn't that good of a coach. Maybe he's got Dubose syndrome. He made it out of Luverne yet?

if you were charged with murder or a sex crime, went through a very public and media driven trial, and were acquitted, how many places do you think would be happy to have you employed there even though you were acquitted? i doubt very many. pretty much the same concept here.

[DKW 86 7,440]

Biased? That's an understatement.

Know that Cottrell's case has nothing to do with UA or our punishment. It has to do with the outright character assassination of a good man. Ronnie Cottrell went from being an assistant coach at Alabama (and previously FSU) to coaching high school football in Ozark. Ivy Williams? He's at a D-III directional school in Nowhere, Oklahoma. He went from being Shaun Alexander's coach to selling cell phones in a matter of months. Both men had their names raked through the mud over sins they didn't commit!

Even though the NCAA released a half assed notice of clearance for both men, it doesn't change the fact that their careers have been chokeslammed. Imagine being turned down for a higher job for something you didn't even do? Cottrell and Williams are essentially serving life without parole sentences in regards to their careers.

WC, please check yourself into rehab. You are obviously under a drug induced fit of unreality. I just realized that you were all of 11-12 when all this went down, I apologize.

IW and RC were ratted out by the coaches on the Dubose staff. PF has told people repeatedly, has told me in front of about 100 witnesses at the Huntsville Hilton lunch event, that every allegation made by Culpepper about IW and RC was backed up by AT LEAST TWO MEMBERS OF THE ALABAMA COACHING STAFF AT THE TIME. Often by even more members of the coaching staff. Tom Culppper is just the fall guy here because they cant go after the bama staff and make it look very good for the university. How would that look? "Ex-Coaching staff members accused of telling truth on illegal recruiting by RC and IW for personal gain."

RC had a horrible rep when he was at FSU. CSS made fun of him and them all the time.

You actually believe all the hundreds of calls from IW's office to LY were legit?

The tragedy here is that TG has made this into a three ringed circus that is nowhere near the truth and most of the totally delusional Alabama fan base want to believe TG, and to hell with the truth. Some even want to elect him governor. Hell it may well turn out that TG may cause UAT more damage than anyone involved in this mess has ever done by themselves.

Dont believe me? Go find yourself some real, older REC members and talk to them. TG is just causing more stink and the real folks know exactly what happened. In truth, from an RE, the Tide Family imploded in upon itself while some bama gobs were fighting over who should have been top dog on campus. The real problem down there on Dubose's staff was that bama folks turned on Bama folks in an effort to get better jobs and to "save" the university.

If you know the whole story, you would never hire RC nor IW to coach anywhere ever again. Maybe someone in T-Town needs to compensate them for what they really did, buy the 1999 SEC Championship.

[AUesquire 1]

The phone calls from IW to LY were documented. Can anyone make an attempt to explain why an assistant coach is making that many calls to one of the most prominent boosters Bama had? No spin now. Really try and come up with a legitimate reason for these calls....and the time frames within which they were made.

If you try and justify it, I would like to know what your opinion was about Houston Nutt text messaging and calling his cute little reporter friend. Did you argue they were probably just old high school buds who like to stay in touch and talk about the upcoming game? Or are you pretty sure there was a little.....well, you know...going on? Were IW and LY just discussing what investment broker to use? That's an important decision you know.

Don't forget something. LY was cinvicted in a court of law. Neither you or me or anyone else on this board was in the courtroom for that. But one thing is for certain. They had all the evidence they needed to prove that Logan Young did exactly what he was accused of. And this booster, who was not on the University payroll, who was not associated with the football team or coaching staff, who ran no recruiting sites that we know of or had anything to do with evaluating high school talent...somehow decided to pay for this overhyped, overweight kid to go to Alabama.

And he did it without ANY help or direction from the very persons recruiting the Memphis area. Just decided all on his own, "You know what? I think I'll give my favorite team a little present and gift wrap this big ole lineman I know about from Memphis. Sure will save my old buddies, Ivy and Ronnie some time. They'll be tickled pink".

[SouthLink02 8]

I hate to do this again but can someone explain to me who Cottrell is?

[AUesquire 1]

I hate to do this again but can someone explain to me who Cottrell is?

I thought that was a picture of him in the back seat of that car.

[AUloggerhead 2,252]

I hate to do this again but can someone explain to me who Cottrell is?

Cottrell & Ivy Williams were asst coaches on Dubose's uat staff and were heavily involved in the (illegal) recruiting for uat. As noted in an earlier message, Cottrell was previously on Bowden's staff at FSU -- apparently learning the finer points of his trade. I'm sure that's what made him attractive to uat. After Marie Robbins was appointed to the committe to self-investigate the NCAA charges by the uat administration, she publicly complained about the run-around & general lack of cooperation from Cottrell & others on the coaching staff. Although I have no doubt Cottrell & Williams were "just following orders" (the Nuremburg Defense,) their low-on-the-totem pole positions on Dubose's staff made them expendable. Their dismissal provided appropriate cover for the rest of the mob and probably saved uat's collective hide from getting the death penalty. If you look at it objectively, they shouldn't be sueing the NCAA. They should be sueing uat. Their personal sacrifices saved uat football. I propose 38 collection boxes for Cottrell & Williams be permanently installed in BDS. uat owes them big time.

[DKW 86 7,440]

If you look at it objectively, they shouldn't be sueing the NCAA. They should be suing uat. Their personal sacrifices saved uat football.

Loggerhead, you get a "Brevity is the son of Brilliance Award." That was short and to the point. If the real truth was out, they wouldnt be suing anyone. They would hide their faces in shame for what they did and also for getting caught.

I will now predict that TG will be lionized and pilloried by the bama fanbase before 2012 is out.

"You dont tug on Superman's cape,

You don t spit into the wind,

You dont pull the mask off that ole Lone Ranger,

and you dont mess around with THEM (NCAA)."

WC, if we ever meet I will tell you just what I know about RC and IW and it will scare you or make you ill one or the other. I almost believe that the lawsuit is to make the NCAA so mad that they strike back at Alabama for letting these two take the fall for the rest of the staff and boosters. The whole Means thing is supposed to be payback for a $400K lawsuit won by an Alabama official back in 1994.

How do you think the NCAA will react to this lawsuit? I can tell you that a ton of the REC members just want them to shut up and go away.

[GalensGhost 0]

Make something stick to them.

I hope you've got a lot of time on your hands.

I'm busy helping OJ find the real killers. When I get done with that, I'll work on it.

[WinCrimson 61]

Point being, nothing can be stuck to Cottrell. Sure, we have a few jokes about OJ Simpson and who should be suing who -- but the summary of the post shows we have two "sources" that show Cottrell's alleged guilt: Paul Finebaum and Steve Spurrier.

If those two said it, it must be true, huh?

[WinCrimson 61]

Again, let me say that Alabama paid a rightful price. Sure, we don't like that we were the only school to get punished when numerous other programs we're on Beale Street lifting their skirt to Means, but oh well.

If Alabama had to pay a price, so be it. What Young did was wrong. Why Ronnie Cottrell paid (and is paying) for it is yet to be proven.

[SouthLink02 8]

I hate to do this again but can someone explain to me who Cottrell is?

Cottrell & Ivy Williams were asst coaches on Dubose's uat staff and were heavily involved in the (illegal) recruiting for uat. As noted in an earlier message, Cottrell was previously on Bowden's staff at FSU -- apparently learning the finer points of his trade. I'm sure that's what made him attractive to uat. After Marie Robbins was appointed to the committe to self-investigate the NCAA charges by the uat administration, she publicly complained about the run-around & general lack of cooperation from Cottrell & others on the coaching staff. Although I have no doubt Cottrell & Williams were "just following orders" (the Nuremburg Defense,) their low-on-the-totem pole positions on Dubose's staff made them expendable. Their dismissal provided appropriate cover for the rest of the mob and probably saved uat's collective hide from getting the death penalty. If you look at it objectively, they shouldn't be sueing the NCAA. They should be sueing uat. Their personal sacrifices saved uat football. I propose 38 collection boxes for Cottrell & Williams be permanently installed in BDS. uat owes them big time.

Makes perfect sense. Thank you

[WinCrimson 61]

Actually, it makes no sense and is backed up with zero facts. Again, I want someone to make something stick to Cottrell. You'll be just as successful as the NCAA was.

Also, what's this bunk about us buying the 1999 SEC Championship? The NCAA has stated that the improprieties started with the 2000 recruitment of Albert Means. In the novel of a judgement they delivered against us, nothing is mentioned about 1999. Wait, I know, William Bradford Huie told us this from the grave?

What's so funny is how you Auburn fans are slamming Cottrell while he's working to get scholarships for his players at your school. Yes, he's a diehard Alabama man, but he wants to see his kids move on to the next level -- and that includes your beloved Auburn.

[saniflush 0]

I did not have the patience to follow this thing as closely as the rest of you did so I may be out of my depth but refresh my memory.......

Did ya'll pay to get a player or not?

[FootballFanatic 4]

Actually listening to some of the legal complaints against the judge, I would have to say I am suprsied at some of the things going on in this case.

Its kinda nuts some of the things that have occurred in the course of this trial.

I know the 's are playing the we didn't do anything wrong card but the way things have been handled in this case seems embaressing no matter what this guy did or didn't do.

[WinCrimson 61]

I did not have the patience to follow this thing as closely as the rest of you did so I may be out of my depth but refresh my memory.......

Did ya'll pay to get a player or not?

Logan Young did. If he is "we", then so be it. I agree that we should have been punished - along with other schools but that's another discussion for another day.

Ronnie Cottrell didn't have anything to do with it, though. The NCAA admits this. There's really not even a debate here.

[saniflush 0]

Then is the discussion about "how could he have not known what was going on"?

[WinCrimson 61]

Ask the NCAA, they're the ones who now admit that.

If I went and paid a player and didn't make it public knowledge, how could you know? The whole deal started rolling when Young ran his mouth to his drinking pal and chief competition in cheating, Roy "TennStud" Adams. The rest is history...

[saniflush 0]

Ask the NCAA, they're the ones who now admit that.

If I went and paid a player and didn't make it public knowledge, how could you know? The whole deal started rolling when Young ran his mouth to his drinking pal and chief competition in cheating, Roy "TennStud" Adams. The rest is history...

Let ask this dumb question then.......

Would it not be better to let this thing die rather than it being continually brought up by these court proceedings?

[WinCrimson 61]

Ask the NCAA, they're the ones who now admit that.

If I went and paid a player and didn't make it public knowledge, how could you know? The whole deal started rolling when Young ran his mouth to his drinking pal and chief competition in cheating, Roy "TennStud" Adams. The rest is history...

Let ask this dumb question then.......

Would it not be better to let this thing die rather than it being continually brought up by these court proceedings?

The university isn't pursuing this. UA has no involvement whatsoever with the case or Gallion.

This is Ronnie Cottrell's suit. The NCAA absolutely wrecked his career, taking him from an SEC coach to a high school coach. Not only that, he's had zero success finding a job comparable to the ones he had at Alabama and FSU. From the outhouse to the penthouse over something that he had absolutely nothing to do with...

He shouldn't (and won't) quit until he wins again.

[AUloggerhead 2,252]

Actually, it makes no sense and is backed up with zero facts. Again, I want someone to make something stick to Cottrell. You'll be just as successful as the NCAA was.

Also, what's this bunk about us buying the 1999 SEC Championship? The NCAA has stated that the improprieties started with the 2000 recruitment of Albert Means. In the novel of a judgement they delivered against us, nothing is mentioned about 1999. ...

Have you read Bragging Rights a Season Inside the SEC College Football's Toughest Conference by Richard Ernsberger? If not, I highly recommend it. It was published in 2000 but it follows the SEC teams during the 1999 season. The chapters on recruiting are very enlightening.

Did you know that Dubose hired Ronnie Cottrell away from FSU in '97 making him the uat Recruiting Coordinator with a salary in excess of $100k? {p. 156} Did you know that uat used a 3-coach approval process for each recruit? {p.171} That means the territorial recruiter, the position coach & the recruiting coordinator all had to agree to offer a kid a scholarship. There is no way possible Cottrell was unaware of Albert Means -- and what it took to get him to uat. Ivy Williams was the Memphis area recruiter. Did you know that uat snagged the top recruit in Memphis for 3 years straight culminating with Means? {p.192} Try to calculate the odds of UT coming down to sign the top recruit out of Mobile 3 years running. This is a crucial piece of information because Lynn Lang is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. To think he cooked up a plan to sell Albert Means' services to uat all on his own is naivete in Forrest Gump terms. Kindal Moorehead was one of the other Memphis recruits to sign with uat. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce Lynn Lang saw what was going on with Kindal Moorehead's recruitment and decided he wanted a piece of that action too. Oh yeah, the mention of Ronnie Cottrell in Bragging Rights isn't even associated with Albert Means. Cottrell is mentioned prominantly regarding another questionable recruitment -- that of Justin Smilely. You remember him don't you? He orignally had committed to UF, but then 3 days before signing day, uat flew him & his mother from Statesboro to Tuscaloosa in a private Lear jet and made one last recruiting pitch to attend uat. In the end, he signed with uat. Here's what Ernsberger wrote {p. 189}:

Last May I talked to Terri for the last time. There was talk that Alabama was being investigated for recruiting violations. Spurrier's reaction was interesting. "I'm not surprised," said the Florida coach. Terri wanted to know what I knew. Not much, I said. She and Justin had just returned from Tuscaloosa, she said where they bought two new vehicles -- a Ford F150 for Justin and a Ford Expedition, which Terri planned to drive to Bama games. She mentions car payments of $700 a month. She seems defensive about the purchases. "I got proof that I bought 'em," she says. "They videotaped me signing the papers at the dealership." Why drive all the way from Georgia to Alabama to buy cars? "I shopped around," she said. "I got a better deal in Alabama."