Paul Johnson slams NCAA for Georgia Tech’s probation
Paul Johnson wasn't happy during Tech's probation news conference. He's still fuming. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
Paul Johnson doesn’t cheat. Doesn’t like cheaters. Calls the suggestion that he would cheat “almost insulting.”
“I’m sure I cheated in board games,” the Georgia Tech coach said. “And when I played, yeah, you’d do stuff. Move the ball forward. Move it back. Kick it. Maybe grab a guy where you’re not supposed to. But heck, everybody does that.”
But not as a coach. It’s why Johnson took a verbal 2-by-4 to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. He says he did nothing wrong. He says the punishment slapped on Georgia Tech’s football program, including the forfeiture of the 2009 ACC championship, is wrong. He wants the school to appeal. That decision hasn’t been made yet, but the trophy has been removed from a case in the Edge Athletics Center and is sitting in an office closet.
At the very least, Johnson wants it known that the Yellow Jackets gained no competitive advantage before the conference title win over Clemson. Also, he’s not giving his ring back.
“I’m proud of what those guys did on the field — they won it on the field,” Johnson said. “The NCAA can’t take away the memories or what happened on the field. Let’s say somebody took something illegal. I’m still not convinced that happened, but let’s say it did. Well, you’re punishing 115 guys who didn’t do anything but work their butt off.”
Johnson said he’s still “stunned” by the NCAA’s actions. He never expected anything of significance would come of the investigation until, “They started ripping [former compliance director] Paul Parker in the hearing.”
He understood why the NCAA might be upset that athletic director Dan Radakovich informed him of the impending investigation after he been told not to, but said, “I knew there was no coverup. If we were trying to cover the thing up, we would’ve just said that Dan never told me anything. Their perception of what happened and my perception of what happened wasn’t close.”
Johnson’s perception: “That they came in here and talked to seven or eight kids and they didn’t find what they were looking for.
“I’ve been in this business a long time. You see all the things that are going on in college sports today, and you get slammed for this? I mean, come on now. I feel for Dan and [Tech president G.P. "Bud"] Peterson. I’ve known Dan since I got here. Dan Radakovich isn’t going to cheat or cover up anything. Did you get bad information or maybe make a bad decision? You can debate that. But I certainly wasn’t privy to any information we had.”
The Tech case will go down as one of the strangest in NCAA history. Investigators never found proof or established a paper trail indicating former players, specifically Demaryius Thomas and Morgan Burnett, received improper benefits from agents. But there was the suspicious matter of $312 worth of clothing given to Thomas. Radakovich also went against the NCAA’s mandate by forewarning Johnson (and indirectly players) of the investigation.
Any potential violations might’ve been secondary, but the NCAA didn’t like the way Tech acted during the investigation, perceiving administrators tried to hinder the process.
Johnson said, “We thought we were cooperating,” then pointed to a black book on his desk and added, “I guess if they say that book right there is red and you don’t agree, then you’re not cooperating.”
He named at least five Tech players who were interviewed during the bye week before the Georgia game — Thomas, Burnett, Derrick Morgan, Jonathan Dwyer and Cord Howard (as well as Morgan’s roommates) — and said they shuttled off and on the field during practice. Peterson, who was relying primarily on the advice of since-retired school counsel Randy Nordin, ultimately cleared Burnett and Thomas to play.
Johnson said an investigator also interviewed one of his assistant coaches.
“They tried to say that he [the assistant coach] was directing players to agents,” Johnson said. “He even asked me if I was directing players to agents. I told him, ‘Dude, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.’ ”
The assumption here is that the NCAA was not expecting a warm embrace. Maybe they’ve just got a thing about bluntness.
“If you went out and you did something to gain a competitive advantage, if you knew you cheated or you paid somebody, it might be easier to swallow,” Johnson said. “But when you don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong, it’s tough to take.”
The one saving grace for Tech is that the NCAA didn’t take away scholarships or issue a postseason ban. Also, this whole ugly process and resulting anger might help Johnson’s cause in at least one area with his players.
“Motivation won’t be a problem,” he said.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Earlier: Tuesday Countdown: Tech stashes ACC trophy; Ohio State’s really stiff ‘I’
Earlier: Georgia’s RB legacy takes another hit with suspension
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
891 comments Add your comment
Hershel Walker
July 19th, 2011
4:05 pm
Hershel needs therapy for mutliple personalities. And why does Hershel always discuss himself in the 3rd person?
74 UGA grad
July 19th, 2011
4:06 pm
It would be nice if media members, including the one who authored this piece, would follow Johnson’s lead.
The NCAA is a dictatorial, corrupt organization that benefits from the labor of unpaid athletes, but treats them only marginally better than it would indentured servants.
Unfortunately, guys like the AJC columnist who wrote this are mostly shills for the NCAA, offering up outrage when some coach/athlete bends the rules set down by people who profif from those they sit in judgment of.
This entire incident is a joke. It’s laughable to use the phrase “improper benefits” when just about every dime the NCAA makes off the efforts of the players constitute a real “improper benefit.”
In the NCAA’s eyes, players are guilty until proven innocent. And even if they are innocent, if they don’t cooperate as subserviantly as the NCAA demands, they can still be sanctioned.
Tech won the ACC Championship that year. Nothing the NCAA can do can take that away.
Tech should send back the original trophy and replace it with a replica of the school’s own making. Let the NCAA do something about that.
One time, it would be nice if writers like Schultz used their finely honed outrage and sarcasm to go after the NCAA, rather than the players, coaches and administrators who have to deal with that organization’s self-appointed watchdogs.
Not holding my breath.
BigTimeTechFan
July 19th, 2011
4:06 pm
BJOHNDAWG – What NCAA rules says an AD can’t tell a coach about a pending investigation??
Last I check NCAA allowed teams to have their own investigations and compliance teams and stuff.
NCAA can’t just make up rules as they go.
Now that is telling the TRUTH..
July 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
Still keep your money in a bank?….Good..we run that…so kiss our a$$es
DAWG MAN
July 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
PUT A BRA ON JOHNSON, YOUR A CHEATER!!!!!
George Stein
July 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
You can’t make that statement, JB, for a few reasons. First, the NCAA didn’t say what the penalty would be for not following their directive. Secondly, and more importantly, the NCAA doesn’t feel the need to be constrained by precedent, so there was no way of predicting this.
Manager at Athens McDonalds
July 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
damnthebutcher (UGA grad) doesn’t know the difference between a lie and being mis-informed by intelligence operatives. Anybody surprised by that?
74 UGA grad
July 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
I lick a cows anal cavity for a living
Dan
July 19th, 2011
4:08 pm
Tech should get the Death Penalty! They think there is nothing wrong with obstructing and NCAA investigation and are too stupid to see that’s why they got whacked to hard!
Manager at Athens McDonalds
July 19th, 2011
4:08 pm
Oh…and it’s not just what WE call a lie, it’s what the court who dis-barred Clinton for perjury called a lie.
DAWG MAN
July 19th, 2011
4:09 pm
Actually take that shirt off, let me lick those man boobs
George Stein
July 19th, 2011
4:09 pm
Excellent post, 74 UGA Grad. I wish I had written that myself b
Dan
July 19th, 2011
4:09 pm
I am such an idiot
woodrow
July 19th, 2011
4:10 pm
This is pure politics. The NCAA is playing power games and some of them are probably getting paid. No one makes bad decisions for no reason. I assume the NCAA is corrupt in this case.
Coach Spurrier
July 19th, 2011
4:10 pm
Wow…lots of Dawg fans on here today. They must have wi-fi down at Swingin’ Richards…
74 UGA grad
July 19th, 2011
4:10 pm
Thankyou, I love you
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:11 pm
damnthebutcher – 1. I must’ve missed it when George Bush said he was lying about WMDs. 2. Can we keep politics off this sports blog? That’s the fastest way to ruin a productive discussion.
Swingin’ Richards
July 19th, 2011
4:11 pm
WE now have wifi honey!!!
Joey
July 19th, 2011
4:12 pm
Thanks Coach and George. Couldn’t help myself with all of the “cheating” talk.
the truth...
July 19th, 2011
4:12 pm
Johnson is right and it is high time some folks stand up to those jerks…they wouldn’t know an honest man from a bank robber is the bottom line.
To jump on Tech like they did is absurd…somehow you have to get the feeling that if Johnson cheated he would say so…why because he isn’t worried about political correctness….
Some of the other programs need to stand with him and make those smucks become accountable to someone…right now they think they are God….
…you know what? They’re not….maybe even a bit of the other one…..
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:12 pm
I can we start talking about men…I love men….mmmmm luv me some CPJ
Stop whinning
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
Ok, let’s get this clear: This has NOTHING to do with $312. NOTHING. Had that been it, there would have been no team penalty. Want a comparison? Look at AJ Green. $1,000 jersey sale, and he missed 4 games. However, he was honest and UGA cooperated. UGA wasn’t penalized (well, except for losing their best player for 4 games).
Also, everyone is talking about how harsh the penalties are. Are you kidding me? $100,000? Big deal. Losing the ACC Championship? It is symbolic and that is it. Everyone still recognizes USC as the champ in 2003 (or whatever the Reggie Bush year was). If the NCAA was really interested in harming GT, they would have taken scholarships away.
Stop yapping, learn your lesson and move on.
The Truth
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
LOL! GA Tech is the only school is history to be punished for doing absolutely nothing wrong. LOL! Yea right coach. GA Tech Lies & Cheats & EVERYONE knows it. Keep Lying Tech. Maybe one day a few fools will believe you. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damon Evans
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
I never expected to get fired…thought I’d be suspended for the 1st half of the Bethune-Cookman game at worst…
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
Harry Dawg arrouses me.
Awwwwww, wittle babies.
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
“but the NCAA didn’t like the way Tech acted during the investigation, perceiving administrators tried to hinder the process.”
Awwwwww, wittle babies.
To dawg man
July 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
It’s actually YOU’RE a cheater. Learn to read and write or get your crayons back out.
Stop whinning
July 19th, 2011
4:15 pm
Let get this straight, I love GT, and hate UGA. Go Jackets!!!
midtown
July 19th, 2011
4:15 pm
Isn’t it kind of amazing how tones change when it is me or my school that has broke the
rules. Believe me, if this was another school all the Tech people and coaches
would be moralizing for the rest of us.
Tech constantly talks about graduation rates and is always near bottom when a report comes out.
Tech never does anything wrong and now we fine out they were no better or worse than Tennessee, Ohio State or you name it.
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:16 pm
lol…you know your words have impact when losers resort to stealing your handle.
midtown
July 19th, 2011
4:16 pm
I love GT, great program, great school. Woohoo!!
Manager at Athens McDonalds
July 19th, 2011
4:16 pm
The NCAA can ask all the Tech players for their championship rings back. On the other hand, if UGA ever gets sanctioned, all those rings were long ago sold on eBay and craigslist…
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:17 pm
I dont always act like a douche, but when I do, I prefer to like CPJ’s man boobs while Im at it.
St. Richt
July 19th, 2011
4:18 pm
LSU got one year of probation for a violation involving one of their coaches providing benefits directly to a JUCO player/recruit. The same assistant coach then tried to cover up the transgressions. 1 year versus 4 years… go figure. Nice job NCAA!!
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:18 pm
I have a sticky copy of the 1980 Sugar Bowl poster under my mattrress.
St. Richt
July 19th, 2011
4:19 pm
The LSU case is proof that the SEC plays by different rules than the rest of us in the NCAA’s eyes..
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:19 pm
Hey harry Dawg…I call “bottoms” tonight…
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:19 pm
And a sticky bulldog stuffed animal
Footballrules
July 19th, 2011
4:19 pm
GeoffDawg….UGA loses even one of their two opening games, you will be calling for JESUS FEVER to get the ax.
Joey
July 19th, 2011
4:20 pm
“That’s the fastest way to ruin a productive discussion.”
************************************
You call this productive, GeoffDawg?
Swingin' Richards
July 19th, 2011
4:20 pm
GeoffDawg, the VIP room is reserved just for you tonight, sweetie.
MarsAZ
July 19th, 2011
4:20 pm
Cry me a frickin river. – USC Trojans
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:20 pm
No I will be calling for Harry dawg to come over and give me a handy
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:21 pm
HAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! Cool Ill be there
dbldawg
July 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
Wow, what an idiot. I am sure that appeal will be warmly received and good to see CPJ respects the process. What an immature, irrational man.
Uhh, coach, your player took an improper benefit, you assisted in manipulating the investigation, and played a player show at a minimum should have sat out of caution (as your neighbors down the road would do).
Damon Evans
July 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
Does Harry Dawg wear red panties?
Fan of the Yellow Jackets
July 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
For all the GA fans (and some GT fans) who are still stuck on “cheating” ….
“(Bud) Peterson, who was relying primarily on the advice of since-retired school counsel Randy Nordin, ultimately cleared Burnett and Thomas to play.”
“The Tech case will go down as one of the strangest in NCAA history. Investigators never found proof or established a paper trail indicating former players, specifically Demaryius Thomas and Morgan Burnett, received improper benefits from agents. But there was the suspicious matter of $312 worth of clothing given to Thomas. Radakovich also went against the NCAA’s mandate by forewarning Johnson (and indirectly players) of the investigation.”
“Any potential violations might’ve been secondary, but the NCAA didn’t like the way Tech acted during the investigation, perceiving administrators tried to hinder the process.”
Wow, I’m no Rhodes Scholar, but I don’t read much about CHEATING in those facts from Schultz’s article.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the NCAA was upset that DRAD “spilled” on its “secret interviews” after they asked him to stay mum, thus the punishment. It seems the more intelligent thinkers on this, and many other blogs, can actually see the NCAA’s ARROGANCE, and that the penalties were bogus.
athensdog
July 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
Well, the world is turning backwards, hell is freezing over and beef barbecue must be my new favorite….I actually agree with Tech, and hope Johnson and the Jackets prevail in the appeal, which Rad surely must pursue.
The NCAA is totally out to lunch.
GeoffDawg
July 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
Damon, no but wow would that be a great idea
Logic
July 19th, 2011
4:23 pm
If the government punished athletes for tax evasion (jail time) and the harmed schools sued for losses players may get the message about rule violations. Of course the coaches, administration, and boosters should also be liable for penalties and open to lawsuits as well.