Tennessee Officials Battling Subpoena to Release Documents

The University of Tennessee is fighting a subpoena to release thousands of student records and other documents that ESPN says it needs to defend itself against two multimillion-dollar defamation suits.

“ESPN’s position implies that it did not know the truth of its complained-of reports at the time of publication,” university lawyer Alan Parker wrote in court papers filed this week.

Saying that complying with the subpoena will cost thousands of dollars, Parker said the university continues to believe the sports network is seeking the records only “to obtain material for future stories.”

ESPN lawyers argue they were willing to sign an order agreeing not to use any materials produced by the subpoena outside of the litigation. But those negotiations broke off, and both sides now blame the other.

The federal lawsuits by former English tutor Victoria Gray and football player Reggie Ridley seek $2 million each over ESPN stories the network began publishing on its Internet site Sept. 26, 1999. The stories raise allegations of academic fraud in the Tennessee athletics program.

Ridley and Gray claim Robin Wright, former director of the athletics department’s writing center, defamed them by telling ESPN that Gray “had at least co-written a paper” for Ridley and had written papers for other Tennessee athletes.

No hearing date has been set over the subpoena issue.

Gray’s trial is scheduled for April 30 and Ridley’s for May 21.

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The NCAA has extended the suspension of Northern Arizona’s Francis St. Paul to six consecutive games, sidelining him for tonight’s game at New Mexico. The receiver was found to have played last season while academically ineligible. . . . Tailback Michael Bennett, the nation’s second-leading rusher, and big-play receiver Nick Davis will be back in the Wisconsin lineup today against Northwestern, but six Badgers will have to sit out--including All-American cornerback Jamar Fletcher--for their role in a discount shoe scandal.