ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Phoebus High School football coach Bill Dee expressed disappointment Tuesday with any suggestion that he has pressured star running back Antoine Womack.
Womack said Monday that he was prepared to sign a letter of intent with Virginia before becoming a victim of ``scare tactics.''
``The kid has never told me that he was going to Virginia,'' said Dee in a call to The Roanoke Times. ``All I had heard was Penn State. Then, he came up to me on signing day and said, `Coach, I can't do it.' I said, `If you can't do it, don't do it.'''
Dee said it was Womack who informed the media of his commitment to Penn State on Jan.17 and that Dee's intention was to make the announcement the following week.
Dee said he feels a coach has some obligation to honor a commitment, but acknowledged that Womack was wavering.
``I think it would be wrong [for college coaches] to pressure a kid,'' said Dee, who did not know when an announcement might come, ``but, in this case, Antoine did contact Virginia.''
Womack said he was prepared to sign with the Cavaliers before he was cautioned about a possible recruiting violation.
``I can say there have been anonymous phone calls and letters,'' said Dee, who said the charges did not originate with him, although he brought them to Womack's attention. ``It's easy to figure out that Penn State was concerned. That raised the red flag to me.''
Dee said he is convinced that Womack did not receive a car and that his mother has not been offered a job, a rumor that has received wide circulation on the Internet.
``I think that's all bogus,'' Dee said. ``I don't know if there has been a recruiting violation. As of right now, I don't know of any investigations. What I've tried to do is point out every possible scenario.''
Dee said he did not tell Womack to sign with Penn State, but did offer suggestions.
``I will not lie,'' Dee said. ``Antoine asked me what I thought the best situation was and I told him that I thought the best situation was Penn State.
``I've had kids go to Virginia. We've got a kid [Charles Bostek] playing there now. I took Antoine to Virginia's summer camp. Our doors were open to them.''
There was not a life-sized poster of Penn State coach Joe Paterno in the Phoebus coaches' office, as was reported Tuesday. Rather, it was in the main office at the school.
``Coach Paterno was coming to the school to visit,'' Dee said. ``There is a person at the school who is a big Penn State fan and it was his poster. The principal said it was OK to hang it; it's his school.''
Dee, originally from Scranton, Pa., said he grew up as a Notre Dame fan.
``If I could go one place to see a college game, it would be South Bend,'' said Dee, referring to Notre Dame's campus in Indiana. ``I know I'm coming across as a Penn State fan.
``What hurts me is, all I want is what's best for the kid. Things have really gone haywire with this recruiting. It's been an experience.''
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