Oregon Employee Turned in Cougars

Greg Walker, an assistant sports information director at Oregon, defended his actions in turning in six Washington State players who broke curfew by going to a Eugene bar early Saturday morning before their game against the Ducks.

Walker, who held the same position at Washington State the past two seasons and is a 1992 graduate of the university, said that when he saw the players at the Rock N’ Rodeo bar, across the street from the team’s hotel, he felt he had to phone Cougar Coach Paul Graham.

“I took a few minutes to deliberate the pros and cons of notifying Coach Graham,” Walker said. “Out of respect for him, and having worked with him last year and having respect for what he’s trying to do there . . . I put myself in his shoes and decided I would want to know the information.”

The next morning, Graham suspended the six players--including his son, Nick--and sent them on a flight back to Pullman, Wash. The short-handed Cougars then lost to Oregon, 81-66.

On Monday, Graham announced that Eddie Miller, a senior forward from Reseda and the team’s second-leading scorer, had been kicked off the team. It was Miller’s idea to go to the bar, and Graham said he was the only one of the six players who showed no remorse over the incident.

Miller reportedly called the rooms of five teammates--Graham, Kendall Minor, Jerry McNair, Framecio Little and E.J. Harris--and organized the late-night junket. After the coaches checked the rooms, the players left the Eugene Hilton and walked into the bar, wearing their crimson and gray sweats. Three of the players--Graham, Minor and Harris--are under the legal drinking age of 21.

Walker, at the bar with his girlfriend, recognized one of the players and called the Cougar coach about 1:45 a.m.

“It was a very brief conversation. I told him, ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but several of your players are across the street,’ ” Walker said. “He let out a sigh and said, ‘OK, thanks for calling.’ That was the extent of it.”