Gaffney Is Suspended by Spurrier

The only trash talk coming out of Florida this week will come from Coach Steve Spurrier. And most of that is going to be directed at his players.

Despite a comeback victory against Tennessee, Spurrier ripped his team for spending too much time talking and not on fixing mistakes.

He also suspended freshman receiver Jabar Gaffney for the first half of Saturday’s game against Kentucky for making a throat-slash gesture at the Tennessee bench after his game-winning touchdown catch. And he issued a gag order on the Gators’ other top players.

“We all think they can handle publicity, but historically around here, we don’t handle it very well,” Spurrier said. “It happens over and over and over. We’ve got to stay on their butts, knock them down, because they cannot handle praise.”

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Stung by several questionable calls, the Southeastern Conference’s coordinator of officiating conceded that his referees have a credibility problem. “We’ve been unlucky in that these things have been in the last minute or have occurred when the game is very close,” Bobby Gaston said.

In addition to Saturday’s controversial touchdown call in the Florida-Tennessee game, two other calls have drawn criticism. Last season, a crew ruled that a Georgia player fumbled at the one-yard line in the final seconds against Georgia Tech with the scored tied, although replays showed the ball popped out after he hit the ground. The Yellow Jackets won in overtime, and the SEC suspended the officials. A referee also missed what could have been a key fumble by Alabama on Sept. 9 against Vanderbilt, which lost 28-10. Gaston has issued an apology for the fumble call.

Hawaii’s players, upset by criticism over their request to have the Rainbow name and logo changed, then stunned by their 45-20 season-opening loss to Division I-AA Portland State, have stopped speaking to reporters. Coach June Jones has asked the players to end the boycott as they prepare for Saturday’s game at Texas El Paso.

Hawaii was ridiculed before the start of the season when Athletic Director Hugh Yoshida acknowledged the team changed its Rainbow name and logo in part because players perceived the rainbow to be a symbol of gay and lesbian pride. The school has since apologized, but many fans remain upset that the Rainbow name was changed to Warriors and the Rainbow removed from the team logo.

Cornerback Jernaro Gilford has been sentenced to one year of probation and 80 hours of community service for an April 11 burglary at Brigham Young’s Smith Fieldhouse. Gilford, who has transferred to a Southern California junior college, hopes to return to the Cougars next season. . . . Illinois and Michigan have yet to announce starters at quarterback for Saturday’s Big Ten showdown, but the Fighting Illini’s Kurt Kittner, who sprained a knee in a victory against California, plans to start. He strode into his chat with reporters wearing a T-shirt that said, “Don’t ask! The knee is fine.” On the back of the shirt, it said, “See front.” . . . Other quarterbacks have not been as lucky. Baylor’s Greg Cicero, a former standout at Anaheim’s Servite High, broke his collarbone against Minnesota and is lost for the season. Wake Forest’s C.J. Leak and Louisiana Tech’s Brian Stallworth each suffered injuries to their left knee and will miss the remainder of the season. Navy’s Brian Broadwater fractured his larynx against Georgia Tech and will be out four to six weeks.