Titans’ Grid Program Tries to Hold Together

There have been an uncharacteristic number of closed doors and closed mouths at the Cal State Fullerton football offices for the past two weeks.

Coach Gene Murphy, known for having a quip for every occasion, resorted mostly to “no comment.”

John Gibbs and Carlos Siragusa, the two players questioned by police about their involvement in the beating death of a Marine, came to the office daily for brief meetings with Murphy but left promptly, rarely stopping to talk with anyone.

Without football to occupy them as they waited for a decision as to whether they would be prosecuted, Gibbs and Siragusa passed a lot of the time playing video games at an off-campus arcade, several students said.

The wait ended Wednesday with the news that no charges would be filed. As the two players left the football offices after hearing the news, Siragusa gave perhaps his longest speech to a reporter since the incident: “We would just prefer not to talk about it.”

The tension may have eased in Coach Murphy’s office, but concern now shifts to the future of a football program that has had a history of financial difficulties, limited community support and occasional suggestions that it should be dropped.

Reflection on Program

Although Murphy has said repeatedly that the real tragedy is Marine Staff Sgt. Richard Bottjer’s death, he acknowledged earlier this week that the incident reflected on the football program.

“I don’t imagine the image of our program is at an all-time high right now,” he said.

In recent years, the Fullerton coaching staff has been concerned enough with the program’s image to include this statement in its playbook:

“Keep this point in mind all year--there are critics of football, both on and off our campus (in the community), who think our game is useless. They would be very happy to see football dropped at Fullerton. . . . Therefore, the negative actions of one player will give these critics reason to find fault with the whole group. The negative actions of one Titan football player (i.e., trouble with the law . . .) is a direct reflection of the Titan football program and his Titan football teammates and coaches.”

But Wednesday, campus officials and supporters of the team did not think the incident would hurt the football program.

“I think it will not have any effect on the program,” said University President Jewel Plummer Cobb. “It’s been so good for so long, and we have many excellent players and an excellent coach in Gene Murphy, whom we believe in implicitly.”

Both the football office and the athletic department office received angry--and sometimes threatening--phone calls and letters during the time that police were investigating the incident, and a flyer distributed on campus last week directed to Murphy asked, “What are you teaching these guys?”

The Fullerton football program, like other athletics at the school, is on a tight budget that relies heavily on fund raising. And some boosters were concerned because the incident came in the midst of a six-week Titan Athletic Foundation fund-raising drive.

Tuesday, at a gathering of Fullerton boosters, supporters said they were worried about the incident, which they repeatedly referred to as the “tragedy.”

Tom Byrnes, the father of Fullerton fullback Tim Byrnes, told the boosters that he was distraught over the incident and media coverage of it but that “we have an old saying in sports: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. . . . I think you’re going to pull behind them and support them in even a greater way than you’ve done so far.”

Titan Athletic Foundation President Den Hood said he had expected the incident to hurt the drive, but he said he was “surprised” at how few people had mentioned it.

Some others said privately they thought that the incident, then still unresolved, was having an adverse impact on raising funds. With less than two weeks to go in its six-week drive, the group has raised $208,000, or 56% of its $375,000 goal.

“I think we will meet the goal,” Hood said.

Gibbs, the Titans’ leading receiver last year, and Siragusa, a backup quarterback last year who was expected to be the top contender for the position this year, will not practice with the team for the remainder of spring drills, Murphy said in a release Wednesday.

But he anticipates that they will return for fall practice.

Coaches and athletic department officials acknowledged privately that the incident probably will resurface next season. They expressed fears that fans and opposing players may taunt the team, and especially Gibbs and Siragusa.

“It’s not going to bother me, and I don’t think it will bother (Gibbs and Siragusa),” said J. J. Celestine, a freshman defensive back.

“It’s tragic,” said Bill Huston, an offensive lineman. “If it’s over for these guys, I’m sure that’s good. . . . I’m sure (taunting) is not going to affect the team. We’re Titan family.”