UCLA Studies Actor’s Role

UCLA’s response to the NCAA investigation into tailback DeShaun Foster’s use of a sports utility vehicle centers on determining if there is a link between an actor who loaned him the vehicle and a sports agent.

Eric Laneuville, 49, who played orderly Luther Hawkins on the 1980s TV show “St. Elsewhere,” is believed to have given Foster use of a Ford Expedition recently.

Foster, a senior and the nation’s third-leading rusher, was declared ineligible for Saturday’s game against Oregon after it was determined use of the vehicle constituted an “extra benefit” in violation of NCAA rules.

As UCLA officials frantically pieced together answers to the charges in an effort to restore Foster’s eligibility for the game against cross-town rival USC on Nov. 17, the phone lines of agents who represent football players buzzed.

An agent contacted Tuesday by an NCAA investigator said Foster told the NCAA his car was being repaired and that he borrowed one from “someone [Foster] had known for four or five years.”

“[The NCAA] wanted to know if I knew that person, if that person was connected with UCLA, if that person is an agent,” the agent said. “I don’t know the answer to that.”

The agent was one of several sources who indicated the person who loaned Foster the vehicle is an actor, and a source close to the UCLA program said it is Laneuville, now a director.

“Everybody’s got to out-Hollywood everyone,” one agent said. “These [players] are young people running around, clubbing in L.A.”

However, unlike former Bruin stars Cade McNown and Freddie Mitchell, the shy Foster does not fit the profile of an athlete hungry for bright lights.

“My best guess is that DeShaun didn’t make the association and had no idea the guy was connected to an agent,” one prominent agent said. “The sad thing is it won’t affect his draft status but it takes a hometown hero and affects his marketability.

“Here’s someone who by all accounts is a great kid, he stayed in school for his senior year and should be a role model. But he used poor judgment and it changed everything.”

Foster is expected to be a high first-round NFL draft choice in April and will sign a multi-million-dollar contract. Although a link has yet to be established between the vehicle and an agent, a player of Foster’s stature is especially vulnerable to anyone trying to cultivate a cozy--and potentially lucrative--relationship.

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said Foster and other players have been made aware of NCAA rules.

“We work hard to educate these guys,” he said. “We have attorneys and representatives from the NFL speak to them. We tell them you don’t need agents right now. Then I take the top guys into my office one by one and go through each possible scenario.”

Toledo took exception to a suggestion that the incident reflected poorly on his program and Bruin athletics.

“It’s a reflection on [Foster],” he said. “It’s not a reflection on the university, the coaches or even his family. They raised him as well as they could. His parents are great people.

“And I still think DeShaun is a great kid who was led down the wrong path.”

Although a UCLA spokesman said Foster attended class Thursday, the tailback did not practice for the second day in a row and was not available for comment. Foster’s mother, Cheryl, declined to comment.

Athletic Director Pete Dalis and associate athletic director Betsy Stephenson are writing UCLA’s response to the NCAA findings. An NCAA investigator is on campus assisting in the probe.

UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said the response could be completed today. Dalis did not return calls.

“We are in the information-gathering mode,” Dellins said. “The sooner we submit the information to the NCAA, the sooner they can make a decision on reinstatement. But we have to have all the information.”Foster would have difficulty regaining his eligibility if investigators link Laneuville to an agent. If no link is established, he could regain his eligibility by next week.

Dellins said it is unlikely that UCLA would have to forfeit earlier victories.

Investigating the school’s Heisman Trophy candidate is an unpleasant task for Dalis, who announced his retirement Monday, effective June 30. However, Dellins said his decision was unrelated to the Foster case.

The NCAA was tipped off about the violation two weeks ago, but UCLA officials were not informed until Tuesday. “Pete had no inkling of it,” Dellins said.

The NCAA had enough information to convene a meeting Wednesday with Dalis and Foster. Dalis said Foster admitted taking the extra benefit.

Dellins said Foster is the only player involved in the investigation, although agents have made contact with several Bruins.

One agent told the NCAA investigator he met with Foster and two other UCLA players at his office in August, which is legal as long as representation is not discussed.

“We had no business discussions in any manner, shape or form,” the agent said. “In DeShaun’s case, we discussed him having a good senior season, that he made a good decision to stay in school, that he had a great opportunity in front of him and not to do anything to jeopardize it [because] the NFL will be there for him in April.”