Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
Several, including Curry, wife of Kentucky coach Bill Curry, said in interviews published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that sports call-in radio talk shows have contributed heavily to the negative atmosphere surrounding college athletics.
On Oct.3, three days after Kentucky was beaten 41-14 by Auburn for its fourth straight loss, secretaries in the football offices found the death threat as they routinely checked answering machine messages. Bill Curry sent his wife and son to an undisclosed location for their safety.
Curry returned home to her family on Monday but still is angry because she'll never feel safe again.
``I haven't been able to get it off my mind,'' she said. ``I guess I'm going to be more reclusive. I love to walk three or four miles each day. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that anymore.
``The callers on radio talk shows bother me,'' she said. ``They're not accountable to anyone in what they say. These callers get their courage up, and it makes them sound big. They don't have to tell who they are. That kind of stuff feeds the worst part of our society.''
Barbara Dooley, wife of Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley, agreed.
``The radio talk shows are brutal,'' she said. ``I have listened very rarely. That talk show in Atlanta is the meanest, ugliest, most insensitive group I've ever heard. They talk about coaches like they are inhuman, like they have no family. There's no accountability, none.''
``I think the call-in shows are terrible,'' said Sandy Hatfield, wife of Ken Hatfield, the Rice head coach and former head coach at Air Force, Arkansas and Clemson.
``People that are in the public eye, like coaches, politicians, clergy, I think people forget they're human,'' said Vicky Fulmer, wife of Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. ``They get so much media attention, people forget those people have families, the same feelings as everyone else. I think sometimes people lash out at the position rather than the person.''
``I was just shocked to see somebody's got their priorities so out of line,'' said Stephanie Goff, wife of Georgia coach Ray Goff. ``It's kind of a sad commentary on our society. I know Carolyn, and she's a great person. People out there who get so wrapped up in football don't seem to realize that coaches and their wives are people, too.''
Some wives said they no longer sit in the stands because of negative comments they hear about their husbands.
``Clemson was a hard place for me,'' Hatfield said. ``It's difficult for me to hear bad things they said about Ken. They were unjustified, negative, ugly, personal, vicious remarks. It's better for me to get away by myself. One time, I turned around to a guy and said, `You happen to be talking about the man I love.' His mouth dropped open. We're people, too. Maybe people need to stop and think. Just because they occupy one seat in the stadium, it doesn't mean that whatever they think is right.''
Dooley admitted she's attacked people in the stadium after vicious remarks. ``I finally had two of my male friends sit with me to keep me out of trouble,'' she said.
Dooley has a theory about what's happening in college athletics.
``College football is now a big money-making sport,'' she said, ``and it has changed the whole complexity of the game. Back when Vince was coaching, they didn't make a lot of money. You weren't on TV all the time. Nobody could form opinions on you except by your won-and-lost record. Now they are high profile because of TV.''
by CNB