From today's Atl Constitution
Cole remains in Bulldogs' purgatory
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
Desperate for a point guard, University of Georgia officials took a chance last year on Tony Cole, a talented player with a troubled past.
It's a gamble they now regret.
Cole had been at UGA only five months when he was among three UGA athletes suspended from play after a female student said she was raped and sexually assaulted in his room. Cole, a junior from Baton Rouge, has not played since mid-January and is not expected to play in the SEC tournament this weekend or in the NCAA tournament after that.
None of the three athletes has been charged in the incident, which remains under investigation. But since that Jan. 14 incident, more accounts from Cole's past have come to light, and the three UGA officials responsible for bringing him to the school have expressed misgivings about recruiting him.
"If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have admitted him," UGA president Michael Adams said. "I expect student-athletes to represent the university with integrity both on and off the playing field."
Adams said he became especially concerned when he learned recently that Cole was accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting and sexually harassing two female students at a prior school.
Cole was dismissed from the Community College of Rhode Island in March 2000, said the school's lawyer, Louis Saccoccio. No criminal charges were filed, but the two young women, who worked in the school athletics office, filed a civil lawsuit against Cole last August.
After the incident at Georgia, Cole and the two other athletes were suspended from their teams. Basketball player Steve Thomas and football player Brandon Williams have since returned to their teams; Cole continues to wait in the wings.
Regretting recruitment
In recent weeks, UGA athletics director Vince Dooley and coach Jim Harrick also have expressed misgivings about bringing Cole to the school. All three say they were unaware of the sex-related accusations against Cole when he was admitted.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 17, the day after Georgia accepted Cole. Harrick said he learned about the lawsuit a few days later. Dooley and Adams said they learned about the lawsuit in January after reading about it in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Stephen Reid, the attorney for the two young women, said there was no relationship between the date he filed the lawsuit and Cole's acceptance to UGA.
Harrick says that had he known the extent of Cole's troubles, he would not have recruited Cole. The coach refuses to explain in detail why the 5-foot-11 guard, who was starting in December, is neither playing nor practicing with the team.
"It's a personal thing between me and Tony," he said. "I want him to improve his life."
Harrick said Cole must fulfill a series of conditions before he can play again. "It's about going to study hall, his academics, how he treats his teachers, how he is with people on campus," Harrick said.
Still, Harrick said he sees much in Cole to like. And he still wants to help him be successful.
"He is a very nice young guy," Harrick said. "This is a guy with no parents. He didn't have a lot to turn to. I thought I could help him."
Dooley said he had known from Harrick that Cole had "moved around" among schools. He knew the young man had a difficult life, growing up largely without a mother or father, and that he had some discipline problems at schools. But, Dooley said, he accepted what Harrick told him -- that with help, Cole could make it. Dooley ultimately vouched for Cole with Adams.
'It didn't work out'
Over the past few months, Dooley also has had second thoughts.
"You balance the risk of taking someone who may be a challenge academically, and from a character standpoint, with the risk of being competitive," Dooley said. In Cole's case, he said, "it was a risk that didn't work out."
Cole has no plans to respond to the Rhode Island lawsuit, said his attorney, Steve Sadow of Atlanta. Sadow is representing Cole without charge in the UGA incident on Jan. 14.
Cole says he did nothing wrong but cannot afford to fight the suit, Sadow said. "Tony Cole's point of view is that he was not involved in any way in any criminal activity."
Inquiries by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed Cole had other troubles at other schools, beyond those the UGA officials say they knew about.
Cole, 21, has attended at least five high schools and two community colleges. Cole was dismissed from or pressured to leave three high schools and one community college, and he was thrown off the basketball team at another, officials at the schools said.
Harrick was largely responsible for screening and recruiting Cole. They've known each other since 1998 when Harrick, then the coach at the University of Rhode Island, was trying to recruit Cole.
Harrick said he had been aware that Cole left two prep schools in Massachusetts in 1998. But he said that he didn't know about several problems Cole had at the schools, although he had spoken to Cole's past coaches. Harrick also said he was unaware that Cole had been charged with trespassing at the University of Rhode Island in early 2000. Cole pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charges last month and accepted a penalty of 25 hours of community service.
Back in 2000, Harrick had some reservations about bringing Cole to UGA, but he believed the young man showed promise. Harrick said he wanted to test Cole's maturity by having him first attend a smaller school for a year.
He helped Cole get into Wabash Valley Community College in Illinois, where Cole stayed for about a year and received an associate degree in general studies. But during that time, Cole was kicked off the basketball team for discipline problems, said Wabash assistant coach Clyde Buck. Harrick said he was unaware of Cole's problems at Wabash.
Rushed admittance
Last summer, Harrick was seeking a point guard to make his team a contender. Running out of time to add players, he pushed for Cole to enter UGA. Cole's application was reviewed just days before the start of the school year.
Since Cole's junior college transcripts came in so late, the university president had to provide final approval. Cole's grades did not meet UGA standards, but he did qualify under the requirements set for athletes by the NCAA, which call for a minimum 2.0 grade-point average, at least 48 transferable college hours and a junior college diploma.
"There's always hope that you can offer someone an opportunity that will turn his life around," Adams said.
Two days after Cole scored one point in Georgia's 73-70 Jan. 12 victory over Tennessee, the incident at the McWhorter Hall dormitory occurred.
According to a detective's affidavit, written after an interview with the young woman, she said the sex with Cole was consensual. But after that, the affidavit said, a male she didn't know -- later identified by UGA public safety director Asa Boynton as Williams -- emerged from a closet and sexually assaulted and tried to rape her. Then, the affidavit said, Thomas entered the room and had sex with her, but the statement did not make it clear if that act was consensual. Thomas' lawyer says it was.
Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Ken Mauldin has declined to discuss the case.
Cole continues to live in a campus residence hall and to attend classes.
Asked about the future of Cole's basketball scholarship, Harrick said, "I haven't come to that."
