Parking Scam Angers UCLA Athletic Director

Nearly a week after 14 current and former UCLA football players were charged in a scam to illegally obtain handicapped parking passes, the university’s athletic department offered its first extended response to the case.

On the same day that Chancellor Albert Carnesale issued a statement condemning the alleged behavior, Athletic Director Pete Dalis cut short his summer vacation to return to campus and face fallout from the incident.

“I’m very angered and shamed,” Dalis said. “It’s hard to imagine why these kids would do this.”

The players are charged with falsifying applications to get placards from the Department of Motor Vehicles that they subsequently used to gain preferred parking on campus.

One of the athletes has sent Dalis a letter of apology. At least nine--the ones with remaining academic eligibility--have spoken to Coach Bob Toledo, who was not available for comment.

With alumni sending angry notes and e-mail to his office, Dalis insisted that the charges, if proven, will be treated as something more serious than a violation of campus parking regulations.

“The [athletes] represent the university, and because of that, they have an obligation,” he said. “I have suspended student-athletes in the past.”

But the athletic director stopped short of saying he would do so in this case, explaining that he must review police reports and wants to watch the progress of a city attorney’s prosecution. The players, who will be arraigned July 28, have been charged with misdemeanor offenses that carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

“These students have rights, and their rights must be adhered to,” said Dalis, adding that “these are 18-, 19- and 20-year-old people, so I don’t want to condemn them totally.”

In the meantime, he defended his handling of the scandal. With Toledo on vacation and Dalis recuperating from shoulder surgery, the athletic department’s only response before Tuesday was a three-paragraph news release.

“I don’t know what we could have done differently,” Dalis said.