Sports Media Attacked on Several Fronts : A College Coach, an NFL Star and a Hydroplane Racer Speak Out

Legislators from throughout the country were told Friday in Indianapolis that although problems exist in college athletics, they often are sensationalized by the media, and, in Pleasantville, N.Y., All-Pro Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants accused the media of trying to destroy him.

Duke University basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski told legislators that the media tend to focus on negative aspects, often creating an impression that the entire system is faulty and should be dealt with, if necessary, by legislative action.

Said Krzyzewski, speaking at a meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures: “They’re trying to save us from ourselves. They’re saying we’re not capable of making decisions. I think we can become too legislative-conscious,”

Appearing with Krzyzewski at the Indiana Convention Center were CBS Sports commentator Billy Packer and the Rev. E. William Beauchamp, executive vice president of the University of Notre Dame.

“The main thing is we (coaches) don’t have a voice to the people like (we do through) this meeting,” Krzyzewski said of the purpose of the session. “Our voice normally is through the press, and they don’t elaborate on the good things.

“Even more than that, what is perceived to be a problem may be not as bad as they portray it. This is a more awareness-type meeting. We can get changes by talking to people like this.”

Drug tests were also discussed, and Packer said that despite all the media attention surrounding the testing of players in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball tournament last spring, not one tested positive. And he took a swipe at his own network, CBS, for its coverage of the issue.

“If Keith Smart or Dean Garrett (of Indiana) had tested positive, we’d have had (news anchor) Dan Rather talking about the latest scandal in college sports. But nobody tested positive, so it wasn’t news.”

Taylor’s comments, made on the first day of the Giants’ training camp for veterans, were the linebacker’s first since Sport magazine published excerpts from his new book, “LT: Living on the Edge,” disclosing his use of cocaine in 1982-85 and crack in 1985.

“It’s a shame that it took me 18 months to write this book and you guys jumped on the negative bandwagon from the beginning without giving the book consideration,” Taylor said.

The excerpts published covered four chapters, and the magazine said it used about half the material in those chapters. Magazine editors have said they adhered to the spirit of the chapters.

Still, Taylor let it be known he is not happy with the way the media handled things.

“Guys, I’m not going to let you all destroy me,” said the six-time Pro Bowl selection and the league’s Most Valuable Player last season. “I’m going to be a Giant. I’m going to stay a Giant. I’m a Giant die-hard. I’m a Giant fan. I’m a Giant player.

“I would never put the Giants, my teammates or (Giant Coach) Bill Parcells in a bad predicament. Now, the Giants have done a lot for me in six years, more than you guys can imagine. Bill Parcells is a guy I love, and I mean one of my closest friends on the team, so I would never put him in a bad predicament.”

Parcells refused to comment on what Taylor said, adding that he thinks the controversy has just about run its course.

In another attack on the media, unlimited hydroplane driver Scott Pierce of Seattle said it’s “nobody’s business” why he risks his life in his sport.

All the drivers know the consequences of what can happen, he said.

“You have to come to grips with that,” he said. “Every time you’re in a boat, there’s a potential for a problem. I understand the ramifications of my actions. It’s nobody else’s business why I’m doing it.”

Pierce, 31, who has been driving unlimited hydroplanes for seven years, said his sport was singled out unfairly for criticism by the media.

“Writers call it ‘gore-sport’ and tear the sport apart,” he said. “If one of our guys goes over, it’s front-page news. Guys at Indy (the Indianapolis 500 auto race) are going 200 to 225 m.p.h., and even if half the field crashes, everybody goes, ‘Oh well, they’re at Indy. It’s not that big a deal.’

“Our sport, for whatever reason, is looked at as being more dangerous than Indy and stock car racing, and I don’t feel that it is.