*http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040612/NEWS/406120333/1011
Team Cottrell wants to subpoena locked-up recordings*
By Christopher Walsh Sports Writer June 12, 2004
Attorneys for Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams will attempt to subpoena tape recordings from a 1996 lawsuit involving a former University of Tennessee men’s athletic trainer in hopes of bolstering their case against the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The tapes, relating to a sexual harassment case brought forth by Jamie Ann Naughright, were sealed as part of a $300,000 settlement that included a confidentiality provision among all parties.
Since then, the tapes have been stored in a safe deposit box by Knoxville attorney Jim London, a federal court-certified mediator who helped negotiate the settlement. However, the tapes will be destroyed on June 30, 2005, when the statute of limitations expires.
Although Team Cottrell attorneys have never heard the recordings -- which would likely have been public record had the lawsuit gone to trial -- they believe Naughright may have secretly recorded conversations among Tennessee players and coaches that could be damaging to the athletic program.
According to Phillip Shanks, who represents Cottrell and Williams in Memphis, the tapes could be used to bolster their argument that the NCAA turned a blind eye to Tennessee in exchange for information to prosecute Alabama.
“We’re going to attempt to subpoena the tapes from Jim London," Montgomery-based attorney Tommy Gallion said. “He’s already indicated that he can’t give them, so it may take a court action.
“Why doesn’t the NCAA just go get them? It’s my understanding that they have every right to listen to them. You pay $300,000 and put them in a safe in a law office. You can’t tell me there isn’t something on those tapes. But I assume like everything else they will continue to do nothing when it concerns Tennessee."
Naughright, who initially sued under her former married name of Whited, filed a 33-point complaint in August 1996, alleging she was the victim of harassment, citing lewd comments about her breast size, inappropriate behavior and discrimination.
In February 1996, Naughright detailed problems with staffers, including Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer and players, with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.
According to the Knoxville News, in November 1995, she also met with Fulmer and associate athletics director Gary Wyant to express concern, including regarding her nickname “Bumper," which she believed referred to her breasts.
Of the 33 complaints, which dated back to 1992, one stemmed from a mooning by Peyton Manning in February 1996, though the quarterback claimed he was directing it at a track athlete.
The lawsuit was settled out of court in December 1996, with the agreement stipulating that Naughright could not pursue further legal action.
However, in 2000, Manning wrote about the incident in a book with his father, Archie, called “Manning: A Father, His Sons, and a Football Legacy."
Although Manning did not mention Naughright by name, she filed suit in Polk County (Fla.) Circuit Court, seeking more than $15,000 in damages because Manning described her as having a “vulgar mouth." Naughright claimed that the comment hurt her career.
She also said in a deposition that Manning had put his “naked butt" on her face during the incident.
The suit was settled out of court in December 2003, again with confidentiality terms.
Attorney Robert Puterbaugh of Lakeland, Fla., who represented Naughright in the Manning case, had no comment about either case.
Naughright resigned from her job at Tennessee effective June 30, 1998, and moved to Florida. She did not return a phone message left at her home.
Following the initial settlement, Tennessee president Joe Johnson told The Associated Press: “I normally do all kinds of talking, but this is a legally arranged deal, worked out through a mediation process, and this is the end result of it."
University general counsel Beauchamp Brogan said the payment was not “an admission of liability by the university or any other party and is a compromise of a disputed claim."
Reach Christopher Walsh at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (205) 722-0228.
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