Postby duck_nutt » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:19 pm
By Marlon W. Morgan Commercial Appeal
September 14, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. -- At 1 p.m. today, an NCAA review panel will discuss Ole Miss recruit Jerrell Powe's appeal for athletic eligibility after he was ruled ineligible three weeks ago by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse.
That ruling was reaffirmed when an NCAA staff reviewed about 100 pages of new documents supplied by Powe's attorneys. One of his attorneys, Jim Carroll, is expecting an unfavorable result from the review panel after learning late Wednesday that the NCAA and Ole Miss have filed to have an injunction hearing that was scheduled Monday moved from the Chancery Court of Lafayette (County) to Federal Court.
''I don't expect any fairness (today),'' said Carroll, who said he hadn't had a chance fully go over the paperwork filed by the NCAA and Ole Miss. ''I don't expect any fairness out of NCAA, or anybody that supports them. I expect it to end up in court.''
Carroll said the NCAA and Ole Miss's latest move is nothing more than a stall tactic, adding that he's prepared to move forward regardless of which court the injunction is held in.
''I think it's a stall tactic to put (Powe) under pressure,'' Carroll said. ''I think it's a tactic designed to force him out of school. I think it's an error on the part of NCAA or Ole Miss to do this.''
One of the issues that will be discussed in today's hearing is whether or not a Wayne County (Miss.) High School teacher ''helped him too much.'' Ginny Lee Crager, who tutored Powe and helped him pass 14 correspondence courses through Brigham Young University, is upset with NCAA officials for even questioning her role in helping Powe pass the Internet courses, which allowed him to graduate from Hargrave Military Academy, achieve his needed 14 core credits, raise his grade point average to 2.54 and increase his ACT score to 18.
''They made me look like I cheated,'' Crager said. ''That's defamation of character. This really has me upset.''
Crager, 64, was approached by Wayne County football coach Marcus Boyles in January of 2005 and told that Powe, who was a highly recruited defensive lineman, was on track to receive a certificate, rather than a diploma. Boyles asked was there anything Crager could do to help him earn a diploma, which is needed to attend a Division 1 school.
She told Boyles she knew of other students who had taken the BYU correspondence courses. Boyles and Crager agreed that was the route Powe would take, in addition to going to Hargrave to earn his diploma. At the time, Powe had just two core credits and scored a 12 on his ACT.
Crager ordered all of Powe's course work from the Internet, downloaded all of the materials, and put them into notebooks to make them look like textbooks. Two days after she began tutoring Powe, Crager realized Powe could not read or write.
According to Crager, Powe was diagnosed with a reading disability when he was in the second grade. Because of his reading disability, Crager said it takes Powe 10 times longer to understand things than those who can read. She added that Powe does not suffer from dyslexia, which was stated earlier by one of his attorney's, Jim Carroll.
But up until his senior year, nothing was done to help Powe overcome his inability to read or write.
''Nobody sat down with him 1-on-1,'' Crager said. ''That's a lot better than 30-on-1. He basically signed in and out of special education. ... They were like, 'Oh well, he's great at football. We've got to keep him on the team.' ''
Powe took all but one session of his courses in her classroom. Only once was he allowed to do it elsewhere, but when Crager went over that assigment, she quickly noticed that it wasn't in Powe's handwriting. Someone else, an unnamed adult, did the work for him -- and flunked the assignment.
''From then on, he came to my room and I kept a calendar,'' Crager said.
Powe began his work at 12:30 p.m. and stayed until 2:30 or 3:30. Crager said she would read him passages and ask him questions. He would look for key words and show her where the answer was in the passage.
On the lessons that required writing, Crager said she would ask Powe what he thought the answer was, and she would write it for him.
''You can't read his writing,'' she said. ''It's absolutely pathetic. It's atrocious. I would say, 'Tell me what you want to write down, and I would write it. That's what we did.''
And that's where the concern regarding her help comes into question. Crager said she kept copies of every assignment Powe did. On those assignments, she would jot down notes like, 'Jerrell, why did you answer it this way?' She provided copies for the NCAA to examine.
''If something was wrong, why would I give it to them?'' she said.
From April 2005 to May 2006, Crager helped Powe pass all 14 courses, which was good for seven credits. Powe received four A's, 9 B's, and a C. Crager feels with the proper help, Powe can succeed at Ole Miss, too.
He currently is enrolled as a part-time student and paying his own way to school. He is not allowed to participate in football.
Crager said Powe isn't the first player she's tried to help get into college. She has helped numerous others, including former Mississippi State player Willie Evans increase their ACT scores.
According to Crager, Powe can now read ''to a certain extent, but he is not a full-reader.'' She said she would need him another six months to get him to that level.
She has informed Ole Miss coaches that they need to have someone study with Powe and go over what he's done in class each day to make sure he is understanding what he's being taught.
''The way computers and laptops are used today, I think he'll be fine,'' Crager said. ''He's not going to be an A or B student, but he can be a C student. He's not going to be a rocket scientist.
''He wants to be a high school coach and help kids like himself. That is, if he doesn't go on to play in the NFL. He's already talking a lot to his brother (Curtis Powe, 11th grade) and telling him to go to class.''
Carroll claims that the NCAA is being unfair and racially discriminatory and he is prepared for a long fight.
''The die has been cast,'' Carroll said. ''We're issuing subpoenas all over the country. ... It's about race and the American Disabilities Act. It's time we all faced up to it and dealt with it.''
