CSUN Athletic Director Suspended in Cover-Up

The president of Cal State Northridge ordered the athletic director suspended for five days and reprimanded the football coach Tuesday for covering up the shooting of a football player at a party.

Dave Baldwin, in his second year as CSUN football coach, had previously admitted to reporters that he lied when he told them that running back Shayne Blakey would miss the upcoming season because of an appendix operation. Actually, Blakey was recovering after being shot in an altercation in West Hills.

In a written statement issued Tuesday, CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson announced that Baldwin will receive a letter of reprimand and Athletic Director Paul Bubb will be suspended without pay for five days because he knew Baldwin’s story was false but did not keep him from repeating it.

Blakey, a sophomore, was suspended from the football squad for the season for violating team and athletic department rules, effective last week, Wilson’s statement said. If Blakey decides to remain at Northridge, he will lose a year of eligibility.

“We were wrong in our actions,” Bubb said. “The university has taken the actions they feel they needed to take. I accept the disciplinary action that has been handed down.”

Baldwin said last week that “regardless of the circumstances, I am wrong. I’m a disgrace to myself.”

He declined further comment Tuesday.

Wilson announced the disciplinary action after meeting with Bubb, Baldwin and Ron Kopita, vice president in charge of student affairs.

“This has been a painful and disappointing experience for all of us,” Wilson said in her statement. “I hope these corrective actions demonstrate our commitment to the high standards each of us needs to embody in all of our work with students and the community.”

Wilson was not available for additional comment.

“I went into [the meeting] knowing mistakes have been made,” Bubb said. “And we went into it accepting responsibility for those actions.”

Kopita, who has administrative control over the athletic program, said Bubb’s punishment was severe because the athletic director did not take sufficient measures to correct what he knew was a falsehood.

“The ultimate responsibility for what happens with the athletic program rests with the director of athletics,” Kopita said. “As Harry Truman once said, the buck stops at his desk. And that’s essentially what’s happening here.”

Kopita said Bubb’s suspension would be scheduled “at a mutually OK time”--probably during the fall semester. “Both Paul and Dave have taken their lumps and are eager to move forward, as I am eager for them to move forward,” he added.

The Northridge team was in its first week of football practice last month when a reporter asked Baldwin why Blakey, a transfer from Antelope Valley College, was walking with a cane on the sideline during practice.

Baldwin’s response--that Blakey was recovering from an appendectomy--was first published Aug. 16. Bubb said he knew then that the coach had lied, but Baldwin repeated his explanation to a Times reporter Aug. 19.

The truth surfaced two days later when Baldwin and Bubb admitted the appendectomy story was not true. Baldwin said the ploy was concocted to protect Blakey from negative publicity.

“The coaches thought that it would be the best way to protect me,” Blakey said last month. “I’m not too familiar with the policies for protecting a program, but I don’t think it was a bad decision.”

Los Angeles police say Blakey was shot after an argument over a cover charge at a party in West Hills on Aug. 9.

The shooter was identified by police as Eric Vigouroux, but he was not charged by the district attorney’s office because investigators determined he may have been acting in self-defense.

Several witnesses said Blakey had threatened Vigouroux with a pellet gun before being shot himself, police said. Blakey, who has been attending classes but not football practices, said he was unarmed.

On Aug. 22, Wilson announced that the university would launch its own investigation into the incident and cover-up, to be conducted by Edward W. Harrison, the university police chief.

Bubb and Baldwin both have apologized for their roles in spreading the false story.

Kopita has asked athletic program officials to review how they deal with reporters with “the goal of ensuring that we are always accurate and honest in reporting our sports news.”