HUSKY FOOTBALL: A PATTERN OF VIOLATIONS? : His Lesson: It Is Better to Earn Than Simply to Receive : Reform: Former Husky linebacker says players are hurt, not helped, by easy-money jobs boosters provide.

By exposing improper inducements, Vince Fudzie, a former University of Washington linebacker, realizes it might hurt those who still are enjoying the benefits of being major college football players.

“Guys on the team will be upset,” Fudzie said. “They’ll have to go to work now. (But) they need to teach them how to make money, not just give them money.

“When you look at it, I don’t know any kid who has gotten rich working from a summer job . . . or was helped after they graduated if they didn’t make it in the pros.”

In calling for reform, Fudzie said: “Right now it is a one-sided deal in favor of the athletic departments. As far as the athletes, they have no one on their side.”

Fudzie, 27, is a CPA, and works with Prime Sports Management, a sports agency in Seattle. He crisscrosses the country recruiting pro prospects.

Fudzie said he draws on his experiences at Washington when talking to young players. He has discovered that little has changed since he was a Husky in the mid-’80s.

“It’s not just Washington,” he said “It’s everywhere.”

Fudzie said he wants safeguards to protect players’ rights. He specifically wants to see athletes get their education paid for if they fail in the pros.

Given the revenues generated by the football program, “It is criminal not to pay for these kids’ education afterward,” Fudzie said.

Fudzie is bitter about how he had to pay for two years of school after he was kicked off the team shortly before the 1985 Freedom Bowl against Colorado.

Fudzie, then a sophomore reserve from Oakland, and teammate Kevin Conard of Compton were involved in an altercation with Santa Ana police outside a nightclub a few nights before the game.

The players--both black--said in court records filed with Orange County Superior Court that they were arrested and beat up after they had problems gaining entrance into the Red Onion disco.

Although criminal charges were dropped, Fudzie and Conard were kicked off the team by Coach Don James and later saw their scholarships revoked. James said in court records that the two had caused so many problems that the Santa Ana incident was the last straw.

The players filed three lawsuits in 1986.

--They joined a class-action discrimination suit against the Red Onion, which settled out of court and promised to address an unofficial policy of discouraging minorities from patronizing their discos.

--They sued the University of Washington and James for revoking their athletic scholarships without due process. Last summer, the Washington Supreme Court upheld an appeals court’s decision to grant the defendants a summary judgment. They are hoping to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

--They sued the Santa Ana Police Department and the officers involved for false imprisonment, assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case is awaiting trial.

Fudzie subsequently earned a degree in accounting. Conard, who had academic problems after the incident and required hospitalization, transferred to San Diego State, where he played in 1987, and earned a degree in business.