ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 TAG: 9702250106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Washington Post and Associated Press reports
A U.S. Marine Corps Reserves spokesman said Monday that former heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe was discharged after one week not only because he wanted out, but because he was a ``problem'' recruit who ``refused to train.''
``This was just a case of a recruit who simply refused to train,'' said Maj. Rick Long, a Marine spokesman at Parris Island, S.C. ``There were a lot of occasions when he was told to do something and he just said, `No, I'm not going to do it.'''
Long said the Marines believe Bowe wanted to leave and purposely behaved in a manner that left the Marines little choice but to discharge him. Bowe, 29, of Fort Washington, Md., could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer and financial adviser, Jeffrey Fried, said Bowe quit the Corps because of his family.
``I truly believe that he underestimated how much he would miss his wife and children when he made the decision to join the Marines,'' Fried told The Washington Post.
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB