Bucks Admit Hiding Johnson’s Problem From the Clippers

To Clipper General Manager Carl Scheer, it may be a “major revelation” by the Milwaukee Bucks.

To Clipper President Alan Rothenberg, it was merely public confirmation of a fact that Bucks’ President Jim Fitzgerald had already privately admitted.

Both men were reacting Wednesday night to a statement by Daniel Neviaser, a member of the Bucks’ board of directors, that his club “tried to hide” the drug problems of forward Marques Johnson.

A recent Times story revealed that Johnson underwent treatment at the St. Mary’s Drug Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis in July, 1983. In September of last year, the former UCLA star was traded to the Clippers along with swingman Junior Bridgeman and backup center Harvey Catchings for forward Terry Cummings and reserve guards Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce.

“It is nothing we don’t already know,” Rothenberg said of Neviaser’s statement. “After the story broke, Fitzgerald admitted it to me. This doesn’t do anything more than confirm what had already been confirmed privately. Since the story, there’s been no doubt that Marques had a problem.”

Fitzgerald did not return calls made to his Palm Springs home Wednesday night.

Johnson, 29, also had no comment on Neviaser’s statement. He has repeatedly refused to comment on the drug charges, other than to say, “I have nothing to do with drugs.”

Said Scheer, who dealt only with Milwaukee Coach Don Nelson in the trade negotiations: “My first blush is to say that it’s a major concession by the Bucks, to admit that they hid it. But then you have to ask, ‘Who did they hide it from?’ Did they just try to hide it from their inner family and the media, or did they deliberately hide it from us? All we know is that they did not tell us and we obviously thought we should know. There is (an obligation) for them to tell us, but if they are saying they deliberately tried to hide it from us, it’s a major revelation with far reaching circumstances.”

The statement that reignited the Johnson controversy came during a Tuesday meeting of the Pen and Mike Club, a gathering of Wisconsin media members.

Responding to a question, Neviaser, a Madison, Wis., businessman, denied that Johnson’s drug problem was the reason he was no longer a Buck.

On the subject of the drug problem, he then added: “It’s true. We tried to hide that. That was not a recent problem. He (Johnson) went through that brief interlude and was OK. I can’t speak for what’s happening now.”

Questioned later, Neviaser couldn’t remember saying the Bucks tried to hide the drug problem. However, Vince Sweeney, sports editor of the Madison Capital Times, says he has the remark on tape.

Neviaser later told a wire service reporter, “We certainly didn’t publicize it (the drug problem).

When a Times reporter phoned Neviaser at his Wisconsin home Wednesday night, the reporter was asked to identify himself. When he did so, he was told that Neviaser was “unavailable.” Where do the Clippers go from here? Johnson has not had what could be called a good season for him, whereas Cummings has had an excellent season for the Bucks.

“Hypothetically, anything is possible,” Scheer said. “When two guys make a contract and they disagree on the contract, they go to court. The judge could do any number of things. He could rescind the deal and return Cummings to the Clippers. He could award the Clippers a first-round draft choice. He could award the Clippers a sum of money. Or he could do nothing. Those are the remedies, I guess.”

According to Rothenberg, the Clippers “still haven’t decided what, if any, action to take. Yes, we have thought about it,” he said, “but that’s all. It’s a troublesome decision to make (whether to sue). We’d have to give it a lot of thought. If we go to court, it wouldn’t hurt us.”

Times staff writer Sam McManis contributed to this story.