ShareThisBy GEOFF CALKINS
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Carl La Mondue might have been corrupt, but at least he was the sentimental sort.
On Dec. 25 of last year, according to his own sworn affidavit, La Mondue gave former Memphis basketball player Shawne Williams $5,000 cash.
Merry Christmas, Shawne! Go buy yourself a really, really nice necktie!
The $5,000 was one of 75 payments _ totaling $49,494 _ the Norfolk, Va. lawyer claimed to have given Williams in a suit filed in Norfolk Circuit Court.
On March 25, 2004: $222 via Western Union.
On March 20, 2005: $2,349 to stay at the Embassy Suites in Chicago.
On May 28, 2005: $1,857.25 to a place called CL's Wheels Tires Etc.
By the way, until recently, there was an establishment of that name in Memphis.
You think La Mondue made all this up?
Or do you think La Mondue paid Williams in the hopes of becoming his agent then got ticked off when Williams signed with Happy Walters instead?
"The University must emphasize that these are only allegations," said Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson.
Of course the university must.
Not only that, they're allegations that have now been withdrawn. On Nov. 8, La Mondue filed the lawsuit against Williams asking for repayment. Wednesday, as the lawsuit became public, La Mondue himself asked that the suit be dismissed "with prejudice." That's lawyer talk for "you won't hear from me again."
Convenient, eh? La Mondue will never appear on a witness stand to testify about the case. He'll never be asked to show off a stack of Western Union receipts.
The guy must have had a sudden change of heart.
Either that or someone paid him to go home and shut up.
Oh, and by the way, the University of Memphis basketball team opened the 2006-2007 season with a 111-69 win over Jackson State Thursday night. Sis-boom-blech.
Not that this kind of thing is limited to Memphis, of course. It's happened at Alabama (Antonio Langham) and Missouri (Jevon Crudup) and Duke (Corey Maggette) and _ OK, this is the unfortunate part _ UMass.
John Calipari used to coach at UMass. In 1996, Calipari he guided UMass to the Final Four. You won't find evidence of that in the NCAA record book, however, because Marcus Camby was on the take.
After the '96 season, a spurned agent named Wesley Spears said he gave Camby jewelry and cash. Substitute La Mondue for Spears and the story starts to sound depressingly familiar.
Though Calipari was expressly cleared of wrongdoing, UMass ended up forfeiting its 35 wins, its appearance in the Final Four and the $160,000 it earned during the tournament run. Memphis could be looking at the same sort of punishment if the NCAA investigation _ and the NCAA has already started an investigation _ reveals that Williams got paid.
Don't bet your shiny new rims on that happening, though. Especially now that La Mondue has evidently closed up shop.
He didn't return phone calls Thursday. His suit was dismissed at his request. The NCAA has a lot of power, but it can't force people to talk.
Imagine the Albert Means case without a chatty Milton Kirk. That's what's left here.
But doesn't it make you queasy anyway? If not about Memphis, about the entire college enterprise?
Williams left Memphis for Laurinburg Prep in February, 2004. The next month, he allegedly got his first payment from La Mondue.
The payments came regularly from that time forward, in totally random amounts: $115 on November 8, '04; $434 on January 10, '05; $385.99 via Western Union on March 15, 2006.
That's four days before Memphis played Bucknell in the NCAA Tournament. Remember how glorious it all felt then? The school spirit? The rallying round?
Would it have felt any different if you thought one of the Memphis players was a pro?
Calipari pointed out how hard it is to keep agents away from players, and that's absolutely true. The problem is that Calipari doesn't exactly run a tight operation at Memphis. He welcomes any and all into his locker room and gym.
That means ministers and FedEx executives. James White, a kid who survived leukemia, shows up with his father all the time.
But it also means Rusty Hyneman, with his drug convictions, walking through the Memphis victory line after last year's game against Tennessee. And Travis King, with his known connections to agents, regularly showing up at practices last year.
So how can anyone be surprised when bad stuff happens? Or when people look at the latest court proceedings with cynicism?
"With it being dismissed, it says a whole lot," said Calipari.
Well, sure.
But what does it say?
