THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608150565
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: 89 lines
For the better part of 16 months, Tony Morrison had been publicly silent as controversy swirled around him.
That changed Wednesday at Virginia Tech's football media day. Morrison, a junior linebacker out of Chesapeake's Indian River High School, was cordial but guarded in commenting about the turmoil he has encountered.
A rape accusation brought against him by a fellow student has become a high-profile, national news story. And Morrison was left off the Hokies' Sugar Bowl travel roster after being charged with public intoxication, petty larceny and destruction of property following a disturbance at a downtown Blacksburg nightspot last December.
``I'm trying to put a lot of things behind me and focusing on football,'' Morrison said.
Morrison acknowledged the last 16 months have been a difficult period. He said he's been able to get through it because he's had good support.
``Basically my family stayed real close beside me, and coach (Frank) Beamer stayed with me,'' Morrison said. ``He knows what kind of person I am.''
On the advice of his lawyer, David Paxton, Morrison would not discuss details of the rape case.
Former Tech student Christy Brzonkala went public last November with allegations Morrison and teammate James Crawford raped her in their dorm room in September 1994, an accusation she first brought before the university's judicial system in April 1995. Morrison has said through his attorney the sex was consensual.
State police investigated the case and did not file charges against Morrison or Crawford.
Brzonkala's $8.3 million civil suit was thrown out of federal court last month. But an appeal is expected, and Brzonkala's lawyers have filed another suit against Morrison and Crawford in state court that has yet to be served.
``It's far from over,'' Morrison said.
``Let's leave it at that,'' interjected Cassie Arner, a member of Tech's sports information staff assigned to monitor Morrison's interviews Wednesday.
After Morrison broke his long silence with the media, Paxton said from his Roanoke law office that it's not prudent for Morrison to comment on specifics of the case when litigation is possible.
``Tony's had to grow up pretty fast,'' Paxton said. ``He's a good kid. It's taken a toll on him, but given everything that's happened, he's come through it very well.''
Beamer also praised Morrison for how he has dealt with the turmoil. Following the Sugar Bowl suspension, Morrison was reinstated and was impressive enough in spring practice to win the starting inside linebacker job.
``I told Tony in the spring there's a lot of things going on, but I thought he really focused in on his academics and on football and had a great spring practice,'' Beamer said. ``That's a trait that most successful people have is not getting tied up with things you can't control, but just focus in and really do well on the things you can. . . . He's working hard to make his life successful.''
Morrison's life has been marked by uncertainty since May 1995, when he was suspended for two semesters by a judicial system panel that found him guilty of sexual misconduct. He appealed and in a second hearing was found guilty of abusive language, but remained suspended. Following another appeal, the university provost reduced the suspension to probation.
After winning the battle to be eligible to play last season, Morrison's arrest sidelined him for the biggest game of the Hokies' best season.
He attended the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, relishing the team's convincing victory over Texas while feeling anguish that he could not participate in it.
``What do you think it would be like, watching the fellas win the game?'' Morrison said. ``They had a lot of fun down there, I heard a lot of stories. In the final seconds of the game when everyone was celebrating, it hurt real bad inside.''
Morrison said he did not know until returning to campus for second semester what his future held at Tech.
``Things were still shaky at that time,'' Morrison said. ``It was good they won. When I went back to see coach Beamer, he had a big smile on his face.''
Morrison seemed relaxed and smiled freely Wednesday while clowning with teammates. You wouldn't have known from looking at him what the previous 16 months had wrought.
``It's been rough,'' said Tech All-American defensive end Cornell Brown, Morrison's roommate. ``That shows what kind of person he is. He came through all the negative stuff going around and all the negative publicity he's had to deal with every day of his life.
``At home, you could see when he'd get down about it every once in a while. The guys in our house stayed in his corner no matter what.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Interviewed during Virginia Tech's media day Wednesday, Tony
Morrison publicly acknowledged for the first time that the last 16
months have been a difficult period in his life.
KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW RAPE LAWSUIT by CNB