Tag Archives: drugs

Duck student-athletes not to talk to reporters without permission

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Update: Reporter Jack Pitcher’s story on this is now up on the Emerald website, here.

3/20/2017: That has been the policy of the athletic department for years. Supposedly it will now change.

This post is related to UO General Counsel Kevin Reed’s investigation of the Duck Athletic Department’s efforts to intimidate student-reporters and prevent student-athletes from talking to the press. The UO Senate called for an investigation back in November, and President Schill commissioned it from the GCO. Jack Pitcher should have a story in the Emerald later today. Meanwhile here’s some history.

Back in 2011, Duck Football spokesperson Dave Williford took to the pages of the NYT to attack a research paper by 3 UO economists that showed a link between Duck football wins and declining grades for UO’s male students. President Lariviere made him apologize. Not clear how Pres Schill will discipline Williford over the Jacoby case.

Then of course there’s Coach Dana Altman’s successful effort to keep his players from talking to reporters after their #BlackLivesMatter protest. The GC’s report doesn’t investigate this. Odd.

Despite what the GC’s report claims, keeping control of the athlete’s ability to speak freely has been “a long-standing policy” for the athletic department for years. Below is a repost from 2012, back when the Senate was debating Randy Geller’s random drug testing policy for athletes. (Sorry the links are broken now, try the wayback machine.)

The GC’s office doesn’t seem to have obtained any emails or documents from the athletic department regarding those incidents that they do investigate – they simply rely on interviews (and one snippet from a Williford powerpoint). That’s a rather surprising lack of due diligence, given how eager the GC was to use the public records law to get copies of my emails with reporters about academic freedom.

That said, the GC’s report does make some helpful if milquetoast recommendations for improvements in the athletic department’s policies. It’s hard to believe they will be enforced however, given the GC report’s failure to hold the athletic department accountable for their efforts to intimidate Jacoby and other reporters – or even accurately describe the athletic department’s actual policies and practices.

10/9/2012 Teach your children well:

Posted yesterday on the UO athletic department’s GoDucks.com website:

There is misinformation about the University of Oregon Athletic Department’s interview policy for student-athletes, coaches and administrators. To provide clarity to this long-standing policy, all interview requests are to be arranged through the Athletic Communications office.

The practice, which is the same at all Pac-12 member institutions, is in place to help manage the interview process for individuals. Student-athletes face the unique challenge of balancing extremely busy schedules involving class, studying, practice, training room and competition. Student-athlete welfare is paramount, and that includes eliminating potentially intrusive situations.

If contacted by a media member unaware of the policy or in blatant disregard for the policy, student-athletes and athletic department personnel are instructed to contact the Athletic Communications office to properly schedule the interview. In no way does the policy require student-athletes or department personnel to refrain from sharing their views or opinions on a topic.

It’s all about protecting the athletes from excessive talking. Orwell would love that last sentence – it doesn’t require they keep quiet, it just makes it real clear that the AD will know what they say and that there may be consequences. I’d interview some “student-athletes” what they think of having big brother Craig Pintens looking over their shoulder, but … .

From what I can tell Rob Mullens and his crew felt the need to re-iterate this policy after the recent public meeting on random duck drug testing, where the lone athlete present refused to speak with Register Guard reporter Diane Dietz:

University of Oregon tennis player Lena Macomson listened intently Wednesday at a sparsely attended public hearing on the university’s new policy to require drug tests on a random basis from student athletes.

And though she appeared to be the only athlete in the room – and so the only one potentially subject to the proposed requirement to give a urine sample – she didn’t take the floor to testify as to how she felt about the matter.

Macomson said afterward that she could not speak to a reporter without first getting the permission of Andy McNamara, assistant athletic director for media relations.

Dietz got one player to speak later on the phone, obviously he caught hell for it. I wonder who tells Craig and Andy what they can say to whom?

3 years after Mullens’s pee to play policy, schools ease pot penalties

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The AP has the report here:

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — At least one-third of the Power Five conference schools are not punishing athletes as harshly as they were 10 years ago for testing positive for marijuana and other so-called recreational drugs, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.

The NCAA last year cut in half the penalty for athletes who fail screenings for substances like marijuana at its championship events, and its chief medical officer is pushing for college sports’ governing body to get out of the business of testing for rec drugs altogether. The AP found that some of the nation’s biggest universities, from Oregon to Auburn, have already eased their punishments as society’s views on marijuana use have changed. …

They must mean Oregon State. UO’s policy could not be more draconian:

The program shall also describe potential sanctions for repeated use or abuse of substances for which tests are conducted. However, a student-athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all athletic financial aid, beginning with the next academic term after a single positive test result.

Oregon AD Rob Mullens tried to get his Random Pot testing policy through the UO Senate in 2012, in an effort to reduce embarrassing “we smoked it all” publicity that might cut into his profits:

The Senate fought back, leading to this threatening email from General Counsel Randy Geller to UO Senate President Rob Kyr and IAC Chair Brian McWhorter:

Screen Shot 2015-12-28 at 8.43.44 PM

Interestingly, former UO President Dave Frohnmayer, as Oregon Attorney General, had thought a previous attempt to randomly test athletes was “probably unconstitutional”:

The RG story is from 1987, and is about the last time UO tried this. A runner and a wrestler fought back, and got the ACLU and then the Oregon DOJ on their side, and they won.

But in 2012 Mullens sidestepped the Senate, and got what he wanted – or what he thought he wanted. Oregon Administrative Rule 571-004 took effect March 4, 2013. It allows the Duck athletics department to randomly test “student-athletes” for use of illicit drugs, and take away their scholarships if they fail one test:

The program shall also describe potential sanctions for repeated use or abuse of substances for which tests are conducted. However, a student-athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all athletic financial aid, beginning with the next academic term after a single positive test result.

Of course now that UO has an independent board, this is now a UO policy. And given its obvious academic consequences presumably AVP Chuck Triplett will be bringing it to the Senate for revision pretty soon, at Rob Mullens’s request.

Tough to recruit players, when you’ve got a draconian drug policy like that on the books!

UO to lose federal funding for leaking student-athlete drug test results

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1/10/2015 update: UO to lose federal funding for leaking student-athlete drug test results:

Just kidding. While Rob Mullens argued he couldn’t tell the campus about the basketball rape allegations because of federal student privacy laws – even with names redacted – apparently he’s got no problem plastering the names of the players who failed a pot test all over the internet, with serious damage to their career prospects.

So why isn’t it a FERPA and HIPPA violation for the athletic department to publicize drug test results, be they with an ehrlich test kit or any other kind?

1/9/2015: Are Randy Geller and Rob Mullens to blame for Darren Carrington missing the big game?

Apparently UO student-athlete Darren Carrington has tested positive for marijuana, and the NCAA has suspended him from Monday’s big game.

You might ask why test Duck pee for pot? It’s not a “performance enhancing” drug. The IOC, for example, recently raised their testing threshold to 10x the previous level. It’s legal or nearly legal in most of the US, it will soon be legal in Oregon, and the 4th Amendment could not be clearer:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

These drug tests are all about public relations. Back in August 2011, Duck cornerback Cliff Harris was busted for driving 118 MPH after “we smoked it all”. In April 2012, ESPN published a story on widespread weed use by Duck athletes. Bad publicity. At the time UO tested for performance enhancing drugs, but not pot.

So in September 2012, Duck athletic director Rob Mullens and UO General Counsel Randy Geller snuck through an Oregon Administrative Rule change, and began random testing of his players for marijuana use. The faculty, led by Senate President (and noted composer) Rob Kyr and IAC Chair (and noted music professor) Brian McWhorter fought back against this new policy and the lack of due process in adopting it. General Counsel Randy Geller responded with a nutso email, with an implicit threat of a defamation lawsuit:

Dear [Senate President Rob Kyr] and [IAC Chair Brian McWhorter]:

I received your email of July 24, 2012, requesting a delay in the public hearing scheduled for August 23rd, 2012. The hearing will be rescheduled for September 13, 2012. Written comments will be accepted until noon on September 14, 2012. We will similarly postpone the date the rule will be filed with the Secretary of State and become final. The rule will be filed on September 21, 2012.

Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.

Randolph Geller, General Counsel, University of Oregon

The Senate then made Gottfredson come to the Senate and explain what was going on. Geller refused to show. Gottfredson claimed the new random drug testing policy was not an academic matter – even though the OAR itself states:

(3) Illicit Substances. If the student-athlete tests positive for the use of prohibitedIllicit Substances, the sanctions will be consistent with the sanctions listed in this subsection. These sanctions define the least severe sanctions that may be taken after each positive test. Notwithstanding the sanctions outlined in this subsection, if thought appropriate, a student- athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all grant-in-aid after a single positive test.

There was more back and forth, but eventually Mullens and Geller got the policy they wanted. Too bad.

UO General Counsel’s office loses another one

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7/29/2014:

Johnson Hall sure is hard on lawyers. In 2010 President Lariviere fired GC Melinda Grier for hiding public records about Mike Bellotti’s contract, then appointed her assistant Randy Geller after what mounted to a failed search for a replacement. (It appears Gottfredson has rehired Grier on the side though). In 2013 Assistant GC Paul Kaufmann left without explanation, half way through his initial one year contract. Earlier this year Randy Geller “retired” in the midst of the scandal over Gottfredson’s handling of the March8-9 basketball rape allegations.

And now the word is that Assistant GC John F. Salmon III left at the end of June, about 6 months after being hired. Again, no explanation.

Given that UO’s Legal Services Policy (if it’s ever signed by Gottfredson) gives these people the responsibility to defend UO and faculty and staff against accusations of misfeasance etc, and help Gottfredson stonewall the release of public records, you’d think that we could at least get a list of the current GC office’s attorneys and their qualifications. Nope. Their website is still “under construction” and has been since that embarrassing “General Counsel Emerita” episode in 2012:

Screen Shot 2014-07-29 at 11.40.58 AM

7/31/2012: Geller defames judge, appoints Grier as UO’s General Counsel Emeritus, attacks Senate Pres and IAC

In response to demands from Senate President Kyr and others including Frank Stahl, Nathan Tublitz and John Bonine, UO General Counsel Randy Geller announced yesterday he’s rescheduling his random drug testing hearing.

But it’s a sham, he’s picked another date when school is out of session. And he completely ignores the faculty / administrative agreement calling for UO policies like this to go through the Senate. That “policy on policies” agreement with Lariviere had been the Senate’s major accomplishment for 2011-2012. Now Geller thinks it isn’t worth a mention.

Geller also claims Senate President Rob Kyr and the IAC Chair made false and offensive comments about the university’s rulemaking process. Apparently that process’s feelings have been hurt, so Randy asks Kyr et al to apologize to it, and to some especially sensitive senior administrators:

Dear Rob and Brian:

I received your email of July 24, 2012, requesting a delay in the public hearing scheduled for August 23rd, 2012. The hearing will be rescheduled for September 13, 2012. Written comments will be accepted until noon on September 14, 2012. We will similarly postpone the date the rule will be filed with the Secretary of State and become final. The rule will be filed on September 21, 2012.

Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.

Randolph Geller

General Counsel
University of Oregon

I like that “in writing” part. Maybe Geller wants Kyr to stand in front of the whole class and use the blackboard, like in third grade? Geller sent this out yesterday. Berdahl’s last few days look to be as crazy as his first. Adult supervision supposedly returns Aug 1, but Gottfredson still hasn’t signed his contract. and Gottfredson apparently signed his contract last night.

8/27/2012 9:00 AM: Geller defames judge:

Sorry, long story. Back in 2010 UO’s General Counsel Melinda Grier got in big trouble for ignoring multiple public records requests and failing to get a written contract for her friend, Athletic Director Mike Bellotti:

It was a big scandal and a humiliation for new UO President Lariviere, especially when he then had to pay Bellotti millions, after firing him for what was reportedly lax financial management of the athletic department.

So Lariviere fired Grier too, and got the Oregon DOJ to look into what had happened. Their investigation took 381+ hours, cost UO $44,086.60, and concluded that Grier (and/or her office, a bit ambiguous) had provided “deficient legal representation” to UO.

Lariviere then tried to hire an outside replacement for Grier, but after 6 months with no luck he gave up and just promoted her associate GC, Randy Geller. (Randy’s letter and resume are here. It was supposed to be a public search, but he wouldn’t release these until I petitioned the AG’s office under the public records law. His bit of intransigence cost UO another ~$1,000 in DOJ billing time.) Grier’s assistant GC Doug Park became the associate. And then eventually of course Lariviere got fired too, to be replaced by Berdahl and now by a permanent President, Mike Gottfredson.

And during the transition to Gottfredson a few weeks ago, Geller sent out a string of odd emails. One accused the UO Senate President and others of defaming him. Another, sent to the Senate STC, with President Gottfredson cced, included this:

The “investigation” of Melinda by DOJ was a hack job. Unfortunately, she was the first of several victims of the former Attorney General. His incompetence eventually led to his decision not to run for a second term and then to resign before the end of his term. If you google “John Kroger” I am sure you will find the Oregonian and Willamette Week articles.

There’s no doubt that Kroger, who has gone on to become president of Reed College, had his issues. But the Grier investigation was led by longtime Associate Attorney General David Leith, now a Marion County Circuit Court Judge. The other investigator was Keith Dubanevich, now Oregon Associate AG. Accusing a sitting judge and an associate AG of a “hack job” is competent professional behavior for UO’s chief lawyer? Maybe Geller’s just mad because the DOJ is fighting his efforts to get them to pay Frohnmayer’s law firm $864,000.

Meanwhile, who was it that broke the story on the Grier firing? Jeff Manning, at the time an investigative reporter for the Oregonian. And now the spokesperson for the AG John Kroger’s replacement, Ellen Rosenblum. And what happened to Melinda Grier? She’s been working as a consultant in an office she shares with a law firm that’s tried to persuade Randy Geller to hire them to do legal work for UO.

And – I’m not making this up – a few days ago Geller declared that she is now UO’s “General Counsel Emeritus” (sic):

Screen shot above, page here. We’ll see how long it stays up.

10:15 AM update: Grier’s now off Randy’s website. That was quick. The html from Friday is here. A commenter notes that this would break UO’s new policy for faculty emeritus status, which Geller and Berdahl signed off on in May. No word on his apology to Judge Leith and AAG Dubanevich yet.

12:15 PM update: Steve Duin of the Oregonian gets Geller to speak. Well worth reading. Must have been a fun party.

4:20 PM update: Geller apologizes to Kroger.

If he’s apologized for his equally unprofessional accusations against UO Senate Pres Kyr and IAC members, I guess I wasn’t on the list. From all indications UO’s new random duck drug testing policy will go forward without UO Senate review.

And this, via UO spokesperson Phil Weiler:

Statement regarding DOJ inquiry/General Counsel website

I have communicated directly with the president of Reed College and former
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger expressing my regret for the ill-advised
email I sent several weeks ago. My comments were unacceptable and I have
apologized to the former Attorney General and his staff.

I also recognize that it was inappropriate to use my office’s website to
recognize the former General Counsel for her years of service.

Randolph Geller
General Counsel

I’ve acquired quite a collection of other “un-lawyerly” messages from Randy over the years.

How the NCAA can reform

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I’m not sure that the NCAA can reform itself, too many powerful people are making too much money off the unpaid players. But there’s some fascinating history in this piece by Ken Pendleton of the Sports Conflict Institute:

In 1956, the NCAA finally accepted the idea that scholarships could be awarded entirely on the basis of athletic merit. … By 1973, the NCAA made a subtle but crucial amendment: Scholarships were renewed annually at the coach’s discretion. The ostensible purpose of the rule, which took shape during the late 60s, was to allow coaches to impose standards of behavioral conduct that were stricter than those imposed on other students. But in reality this meant that coaches had more leverage to control athletes, for example, make them lift weights more, and run off the ones that were failing athletically (what was then delicately referred to as ‘dead wood’).

UO’s new random pot testing policy – which Randy Geller and Rob Mullens pushed through last year – gives the coaches an additional threat. If they fail one test, the AD can kick them off the team and take away their scholarship. Of course the coaches don’t literally need run them off . Instead they can just encourage the players that aren’t bringing in enough money for the AD to “voluntarily” transfer to another school. And under the cartel’s rules the coach’s approval is essential: without it, the player is almost sure to have to sit out a year as a redshirt.

Rob Mullens drives another student-athlete to drink

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2/23/2014: UO BBaller caught using a fake ID (a passport?) at Taylor’s. Coach Dana Altman desperately needs this kid in the next few games to save his season, have any chance of making the NCAA tournament, and get some bonuses to top off his $1.8M salary. We’ll see how many games he suspends him for. Maybe Mullens should do what the Russians did at Sochi and relax his THC threshold? Keep these players safe in the Courtside Apartments, doing cannonballs on the couch.

10/12/2012: A little data and theory:

  • August 2011, Duck cornerback Cliff Harris busted for driving 118 MPH after “we smoked it all”.
  • April 2012, ESPN published a story on widespread weed use by Duck athletes.
  • September 2012, Duck athletic director Rob Mullens begins random drug testing of his players for marijuana. This raises the expected cost of smoking pot and lowers the relative cost of drinking. Players, as rational optimizers, substitute toward the cheaper good.
  • UO General Counsel Randy Geller accuses Senate President Rob Kyr and IAC chair Brian McWhorter of “false and misleading” statements about his efforts to subvert the law and implement an OAR allowing random pot testing and taking away scholarships.
  • People smoke pot at home, then fall asleep on their dorito encrusted couch. They drink in bars, which can be made easier if they have already asked the question of “where to get a fake id from” so they don’t get caught, then they proceed in trying to drive home.
  • October 2012, Duck defensive tackle Isaac Remington busted for driving drunk.

For more, see this UO economist’s work, here:

The current study examines the relationship between the legalization of medical marijuana and traffic fatalities, the leading cause of death among Americans ages 5 through 34. Some people opt to get the effects without the drawbacks by using Blessed CBD oil products, or products from other dispensaries. Silll, the first full year after coming into effect, legalization is associated with an 8 to 11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities.

10/15/2012: More on Drugs:

1) Pres Gottfredson (in his Senate speech) said the new random drug testing policy is not an academic matter. This claim is contradicted by many things. The OAR itself states:

(3) Illicit Substances. If the student-athlete tests positive for the use of prohibitedIllicit Substances, the sanctions will be consistent with the sanctions listed in this subsection. These sanctions define the least severe sanctions that may be taken after each positive test. Notwithstanding the sanctions outlined in this subsection, if thought appropriate, a student- athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all grant-in-aid after a single positive test.

Losing all your student aid because of one positive random urine test for pot or adderall strikes me as a very consequential academic matter. I know I would have had to have been pretty lucky to have finished college under this rule. The thing is now, many professional, semi-professional, and amateur athletes often tend to use a compound found in cannabis to alleviate pains and inflammation. This compound is known as CBD, and many people consume this legally. It can be found in the form of oils, ointments, CBD capsules or gummies (found on sites similar to Vibes CBD), and it can even be infused into foods and drinks as well. There are easy ways to consume it and more obscure ways to consume it, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is actually a pain relief drug and used for those suffering from muscular or skeletal injuries. Especially for athletes as they will be experiencing these issues a lot of the time. These people that wish to use this cannabinoid are even finding ways to purchase it cheaper than retail price by looking at websites like https://thecbdinsider.com/cbd-coupons/elixinol-coupon/ and others. The athletes don’t use this substance to gain a high, they do so as a pain reliever and muscle relaxer, proving beneficial for their daily workout regimes. Does this mean that the faculty members would choose to disband or invalidate student aid due to the use of CBD too?

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Athletes now allowed to smoke pot

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That would be at the Sochi Olympics, where the IOC has raised the threshold for a positive test to 10X its previous level. Meanwhile here at UO, our Athletic Department recently got the power to do random tests, then kick a student off the team and take away their scholarship for peeing any detectable THC. I’m guessing the next sport Mullens plans to add ain’t snowboarding.

Colt Lyerla leaves Ducks, arrested 17 days later for cocaine

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10/23/2013: Very sad. Duck football player Colt Lyerla was suspended from the team on Oct 5 for “violating team rules”, then he announced on Oct 6 he was leaving for personal reasons. Today he was arrested by Eugene police for cocaine possession.

Did UO’s new random drug testing program detect his use? Did he get counseling and help, or did the athletic department just encourage him to leave, in an effort to save the football team potential embarrassment? Did they threaten to take away his scholarship and effectively kick him out of school? Ruin any chance of a pro career? Suggest that instead it might be best for him to leave on his own, in exchange for a supportive piece from Duck PR flack Rob Moseley, to counteract the skepticism about his draft prospects from reporters?

Last year the UO Senate and its Intercollegiate Athletics Committee came under extraordinary pressure from Athletic Director Rob Mullens, interim President Bob Berdahl, and General Counsel Randy Geller to approve a new drug testing policy, with limited public discussion. This link has more. The Oregon Administrative Rule on this, as finally adopted, is here. Page down to:

Athletic Department Substance Use and Drug Testing
571-004-0020
Introduction and Purpose
(1) The University of Oregon has a compelling interest in prohibiting and deterring drug use by student-athletes. The University educates its student-athletes about the detrimental effects of drug use on health, safety, academic work, and careers. The University must abide by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules. Because student-athletes are viewed as University representatives, the University has an interest in promoting drug-free and healthful lifestyles to the community through its athletic program.

My read is that the rule gives the athletic department extraordinary power, not just to kick a player off the team, but to take away their financial aid, and effectively kick them out of school by taking away their scholarship. The IAC and the Senate fought this, but we lost:

(3) Illicit Substances. If the student-athlete tests positive for the use of an Illicit Substance, the sanctions will be consistent with the sanctions listed in this subsection. These sanctions define the least severe sanctions that may be taken after each positive test. Notwithstanding the sanctions outlined in this subsection, if concluded to be appropriate, a student-athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all athletic financial aid after a single positive test.

“Concluded to be appropriate” on what grounds, and by whom? People with a financial interest in minimizing damage to the Duck brand? The pressure from Randy Geller to stifle public discussion and get the faculty to approve this policy was intense:

Dear [Senate President Rob Kyr] and [IAC Chair Brian McWhorter]:

I received your email of July 24, 2012, requesting a delay in the public hearing scheduled for August 23rd, 2012. The hearing will be rescheduled for September 13, 2012. Written comments will be accepted until noon on September 14, 2012. We will similarly postpone the date the rule will be filed with the Secretary of State and become final. The rule will be filed on September 21, 2012.

Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.

Randolph Geller  

General Counsel
University of Oregon

President Gottfredson took charge the next day, and he was much more open to discussion. More on the Senate debate on this policy is at http://senate.uoregon.edu/content/minutes-uo-senate-meeting-october-10-2012 

Daily Emerald editor fought for freedom of the press. UO, not so much

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8/26/2013: An amazing story in the Oregon Quarterly by UO journalism graduate Elisabeth Kramer, on 1966 ODE Editor Annette Buchanan and her role in creating Oregon’s shield law, which protects journalists and their sources.

All over a story about pot smoking on campus. How far have we slid back in terms of freedom? This spring UO imposed a new policy that allows the athletic department to randomly test its athletes for pot use, and take away their scholarships if they fail even one test. And last summer UO General Counsel Randy Geller sent a veiled threat to Senate President Rob Kyr and IAC Chair Brian McWhorter for complaining about how he tried to do it in the dark, and to me for publishing information criticizing him and the process:

Dear Rob and Brian:

I received your email of July 24, 2012, requesting a delay in the public hearing scheduled for August 23rd, 2012. The hearing will be rescheduled for September 13, 2012. Written comments will be accepted until noon on September 14, 2012. We will similarly postpone the date the rule will be filed with the Secretary of State and become final. The rule will be filed on September 21, 2012.

Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.

Randolph Geller  

General Counsel
University of Oregon

From what I can tell Geller faced no consequences from President Gottfredson for this.

And UO President Emeritus Dave Frohnmayer hasn’t been shy about getting the Emerald to retract things. From a post here back in Feb 2013:

Last year Frohnmayer took umbrage over Oregon Daily Emerald publishing this story about the Oregon SPJ giving me their “First Freedom” Award. Apparently at the insistence of his lawyers, the ODE website later posted a “clarification“:

In the article, we paraphrased UO Matters’ Bill Harbaugh saying “former University president Dave Frohnmayer was proposing pay cuts for faculty and Harbaugh found public records showing he had negotiated a big raise for himself with Chancellor Pernsteiner not long before.” Documents provided to the Emerald indicate that while Frohnmayer did get a raise, it was nine months before he asked the faculty to take cuts and months before a serious economic downturn. 

Additionally, while he was asking staff to take paycuts, Frohnmayer himself took a 7.6 percent paycut, the largest of any administrator.

I’m a little puzzled by Frohnmayer’s math. If you pull the unclassified salary reports at ir.uoregon.edu you get this for him:
February 2009: (before furlough scheme)

$225,700 12 months FTE at 100%, president
$18,333 12 month FTE at 100%, chair pay
$20,000 12 month FTE at 100% expense allowance (taken as salary)
$111,627 12 month FTE at 100% supplemental pay
$69,300 12 month FTE at 100% recognition award/stipend
$130,000 12 month FTE at 100% law professor (on leave no pay) 

May 2009: (after furlough scheme)

$225,700 12 months FTE at 92%, president
$18,333 12 month FTE at 100%, chair pay
$20,000 12 month FTE at 100%, expense allowance (taken as salary)
$111,627 12 month FTE at 100%, supplemental pay
$69,300 12 month FTE at 100%, recognition award/stipend
$130,000 12 month FTE at 100% law professor (on leave no pay)  

August 2009 

$245,700 12 months FTE at 100%, president emeritus

So, if you include all the various pots of salary he was getting, he took a furlough cut from $37,080 a month to $35,575, or about 4% per month, for about three months. Call it about 1% for the year. His furlough plea was for faculty and OA’s to take 5% cuts.
I’m also a little confused by Frohnmayer’s dates. He did get one big raise from Pernsteiner in 2008, and that was indeed before the furlough scheme, as his clarification indicates. But his retirement contract also included a very nice raise, however you calculate it. And many other special emoluments as well. 
So, was Frohnmayer really negotiating with Pernsteiner for a nice retirement deal for himself at the same time he was trying to persuade the rest of us to take 5% furlough pay cuts? It sure looks that way to me. His contract is here. The Oregon Audits Division report on it is here. The furlough town hall was 4/14/2009, video of Frohnmayer pitching the furloughs to the faculty and OA’s is here. And here’s an email from OUS chief lawyer Ryan Hagemann, saying Frohnmayer’s contract had not been finalized as of 4/29/2009:
From: “Hagemann, Ryan” <[email protected]>
Subject: Public Records Requests
Date: April 24, 2009 11:16:29 AM PDT
To: “Bill Harbaugh” <[email protected]>

Professor Harbaugh:
I have returned from the road, and am in receipt of your two public records requests.  Generally, you have requested President Frohnmayer’s post-presidential agreements and the contract, and other agreements, for incoming President Larivere.  For your information, Professor Harbaugh, to my knowledge, neither of these agreements have been finalized.  I have a proposal for your consideration:  if you would be willing to withdraw these two requests, I would be willing, when I receive these finalized agreements in my office, to forward them to you at no cost.  That way, you would not need to make a new public records request; I’d just forward to you when I receive. 
Would that work?  If not, I would be more than happy to process your request and get you an acknowledgement letter!
Thanks for your consideration,
Ryan
R y a n   J a m e s   H a g e m a n n
Legal Counsel & Secretary to the Board
Oregon University System

After I raised questions about the legality of this $245,700 emeritus contract UO renegotiated it according to the standard rues, leaving Frohnmayer at $201K with an 0.5 FTE and with fully specified teaching and research responsibilities. Saved UO a good $145K, that did. Contracts here.

1/27/2013. It’s starting to seem like a movement. They even call out Frohnmayer, when discussing Kitzhaber’s plans to cap the COLA:

A number of prominent Oregonians found themselves the subjects of unwanted attention when Kroger raised the curtain two years ago. Among them was former University of Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti, who received the biggest PERS pension of them all — $41,342 a month. No. 4 on the list was Steve Goldschmidt, who represented the Eugene School District during a 1987 teachers’ strike, whose monthly check was $21,517. Former UO President Dave Frohnmayer came in at No. 5, with $21,207.

From what I can tell from the UO salary data, we’re also paying Dave $100,514 a year for co-teaching 2 small classes on “leadership”, with his former special assistant Barbara West – not sure what she gets. Also can’t find any evidence that the Senate Curriculum Committee ever approved his courses. He also teaches a week long one credit pass/fail course in the law school – so he’s a “law professor” when he’s outsoliciting clients for HLGR. To top it off he got a lot of deferred compensation from UO, so the PERS number is an underreport of his total state paid retirement income. Contracts here. OK, I’m done with this rant for a while, sorry.

Frohnmayer says drug testing rules for Ducks "probably unconstitutional"

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Updated 4/23/2013 with link to full Frohnmayer opinion, here.

4/20/2013. New Oregon Administrative Rule 571-004 took effect March 4, 2013. It allows the Duck athletics department to randomly test “student-athletes” for use of illicit drugs, and take away their scholarships if they fail one test:

The program shall also describe potential sanctions for repeated use or abuse of substances for which tests are conducted. However, a student-athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all athletic financial aid, beginning with the next academic term after a single positive test result.

This policy was pushed through by President Gottfredson this fall, at the instigation of Athletic Director Rob Mullens and with the help of UO General Counsel Randy Geller. But, in a stunning development, former UO President Frohnmayer has stated that random testing violates the 4th amendment prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure. The RG breaks the story:

Wait, the RG story is from 1987, and is about the last time UO tried this. A runner and a wrestler fought back, and got the ACLU and then the Oregon DOJ on their side, and they won.

But that was then. UO’s new random drug testing OAR, with the clause giving the AD the right to cancel a scholarship is now in place, with no objections from Dave Frohnmayer, currently serving as a UO law professor.

How did UO’s General Counsel respond to the people who raised questions this time? He accused President Kyr and the IAC of defamation:

… Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.

Randolph Geller  General CounselUniversity of Oregon 

Chinese have better civil rights than Duck athletes

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From the official organ of the Communist Party of China:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-12/31/c_132074418.htm 

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) — Former NBA player Marcus Williams has been tested positive for marijuana to record the first doping case in China’s professional basketball league, the national basketball governing body announced on Monday.
Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) said in a statement that the point guard, playing for Shanxi, was banned for six months and the club was fined 10,000 yuan (about 1,500 U.S. dollars) following his positive test on Dec. 9. “We should learn from this lesson, to conduct more tests, to improve our regulations. We won’t tolerate doping,” it said in the statement.

Oregon’s new policy?

http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_500/oar_571/571_004.html 

Positive Test Results Sanctions 

(1) The director of athletic medicine, the athletic director, the head coach, and other appropriate personnel shall review a positive test result and shall, bearing in mind the type of drugs identified, the recency of use, and the medical, safety and performance-enhancing effects of the use, formulate an appropriate program for the student-athlete. Such program shall include abstention from further use and periodic retesting and may include counseling, reduced playing time, and withdrawal from drills, scrimmages, or competitions. The program shall also describe potential sanctions for repeated use or abuse of substances for which tests are conducted. However, a student-athlete may be dismissed from the team and lose all athletic financial aid, beginning with the next academic term after a single positive test result.

The Fourth Amendment?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Ducks to lose recruiting advantage to UW, WSU?

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First Rob Mullens hit the team with his random Purple Kush testing and scholarship threats. Now it looks like Oregon’s marijuana legalization initiative is in the tank, while Washington’s is looking pretty likely. From the prediction markets at Intrade.com. 10/24/2012.

On the other hand, a reader sends us this on WSU. Virginia had a similar law – in 1831.

If you sign up to be an unpaid worker in a multimillion-dollar entertainment enterprise in Pullman, Wa, you should expect to give up your freedom of speech. 

<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/oct/23/wsu-football-players-banned-twitter/>
Now, I can understand limiting the players from making public comments, tweets included, about their team, their games, their football program, etc., but it doesn’t stop there. 

“Quite frankly, if after today you see anything on Twitter from our team,” Leach said, “and I don’t care if it says, ‘I love life,’ I would like to see it because I will suspend them.” 

You can play football, but you can’t love life. Probably not a conflict in Pullman, now that I think about it… 

—– Will Overhead, ’33 The Fishwrapper

Gottfredson cuts drug remark from his Senate speech

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10/18/2012: He read it from a script, so why not just post the whole document? Instead his office has put up an edited version, with more platitudes and less content:

President addresses UO Senate – and perfection. 

Some of Winston Smith’s Dave Hubin’s finer work.

UO’s new drug policy gives the athletic department the power to revoke a student’s scholarship for a single failed pot test. Gottfredson’s statement that this is an administrative, not an academic matter is at 15:30. He then credits *Berdahl* with agreeing to postpone discussion – but not implementation – until school was in session. Does he really not know how hard the faculty had to push to make that happen? The editorial in the RG was just part of it – Geller threatened faculty with a defamation lawsuit over our efforts. What has Gottfredson done to stop Geller from this bullying? Nothing.