NCAA should turn over FSU documents

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NCAA should turn over FSU documents
Paul Flemming • News Journal Capital Bureau • June 12, 2009
TALLAHASSEE -- Attorney General Bill McCollum says the NCAA should release documents in its ongoing disciplinary case against Florida State athletics.

McCollumn today sent a letter to the NCAA saying it must comply with Florida's open-records laws.
"As you know, the documents at issue are considered to be at the crux of a significant matter for Florida State University, its football program, and thousands of football fans throughout the state," McCollum said in his letter to NCAA President Myles Brand.
Florida State officials are appealing sanctions handed down by the NCAA earlier this year, vacating sports victories for teams that included players involved in an academic cheating scandal. Documents from the NCAA were only made available to FSU outside attorneys on a secure Web site that did not allow the documents to be downloaded or printed.
Barbara Petersen, president of the media-funded Florida First Amendment Foundation, said the NCAA's actions are clear violations of state law.
She said the NCAA's actions and a judge's decision to declare the documents closed were in direct violation of the state's constitution. She said the restrictions imposed on FSU by the NCAA were "completely meaningless" under Florida law.
"If we allowed the sender of a document to determine what we have access to, what would we have? Nothing" Petersen said. "We have case law that says you cannot contract away your open-records responsibilities."
FSU President T.K. Wetherell said earlier this week he'd prefer to release the documents but couldn't. "We don't want to keep it secret," he said.
Petersen said she did not blame FSU officials for the confidentiality agreement and its constraints required by the NCAA, characterizing the university's position as "between a rock and a hard place."
Officials at the NCAA "just don't seem to get it. The arrogance is just astounding. They are supposed to teach student athletes to be good citizens, that you can't cheat your way through life, and then they require this. I find that level of arrogance incredible," Petersen said.
Gov. Charlie Crist has said he supports transparency and openness for government institutions, though his office is not responsible for advisories on Florida law.
Petersen said the only remedy to the NCAA's continued violation is to file suit. McCollum's letter was advisory and took no action. McCollum did note there are criminal penalties for violations of the state's public-records law of up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Petersen said the First Amendment Foundation and media organizations have drafted a lawsuit to file for release of the records.
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