BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The attorney for University of Cincinnati basketball player Charles Williams describes the investigation into his eligibility and possible NCAA rules violations as frustrating and fruitless.
''It's like they're looking for dirt, and all they can find is some dust,'' said Anne Frayne, a Dayton attorney who is working to restore Williams' NCAA eligibility. ''They ask him a lot of questions, show him his course work and ask if he did it himself, 'Did he attend classes?' They keep beating a dead horse.''
Frayne said the investigation, which began when UC was asked in January by the NCAA to examine whether Williams properly completed course work at Compton (Calif.) College, has yielded a few possible rules violations the NCAA ordinarily would classify as minor.
Those consist of: an automobile ride Williams said he was given while being recruited by UC assistant coach John Loyer; questions about whether someone at UC registered Williams for summer classes to complete his junior college degree; and Williams' acceptance of a plane ticket from a university professor.
Frayne said she was told by NCAA enforcement representative Jeff Friedman that Williams did not commit a violation when he accepted the plane ticket so he could visit his family during the Christmas holidays, although she did not know whether UC might still be held liable for a rules violation.
Frayne, who previously had done legal work for a relative of Williams, became his attorney when UC was considering drafting a press release regarding the inquiry in mid-March.
That release never developed, but she since has accompanied Williams to interviews and was involved when his mother, Patricia White, was flown from Los Angeles to Cincinnati to be questioned last week.
''I really expected last Friday, when we met with his mother, that a bomb would be dropped,'' Frayne said. ''And there was nothing.''
Frayne said White was repeatedly asked whether Williams owned an automobile. Frayne said Williams does not.
''It was like, 'Do you people know something we don't?' They acted surprised that someone would come all the way from Los Angeles to Cincinnati and not have a car,'' Frayne said. ''I asked the two investigators, 'Did you have a car when you were an undergrad?' They said no. It's not a necessity for Charles to get around the Cincinnati campus.''
Frayne said she was told ''on numerous occasions'' that Williams has not committed any violations of school policy, team policy or NCAA rules.
''I've asked them over and over again to come forward and say these things publicly, and they say that until the investigation is complete, they can't comment.''
The office of Gerald O'Dell, the UC athletic director, referred all questions regarding the investigation to the school's sports information office.
Williams met Bill Swisher, a professor at UC's Clermont branch, when he took a math class taught by Swisher last summer. Frayne said Williams apparently was not in violation of the rules in accepting the plane ticket because he went to the library, researched NCAA rules covering the subject and concluded that because Swisher was not in the booster club or athletic department, this could be considered a gift from a friend.
Williams, who was interviewed at least six times, has repeatedly been asked by investigators if he attended classes and completed his own schoolwork. Frayne said she was told they are satisfied his academic work was legitimate.
Williams has petitioned the NCAA to have his eligibility restored and is hoping to transfer to another Division I school. As a means of ensuring full cooperation, investigators told Williams it was possible he would not have to sit out a year from competition, which ordinarily is mandated by NCAA rules.
Frayne was told last week investigators have four more interviews to conduct, but that each interview could lead to more people being questioned.
''They say that every time. It's like a big domino effect. It's very frustrating.''
Postseason
TRANSFER POSSIBILITY HELPS ENSURE WILLIAMS' COOPERATION April 30, 1997
UC DENIES REPORTS LOYER WAS SUSPENDED April 30, 1997
UC PRESIDENT: CAUTION NEEDED IN WILLIAMS PROBE April 29, 1997
SNOOP O'DELL COULD'VE FOUND BETTER WAY Daugherty column, April 29, 1997
HUGGINS' RIFT WITH O'DELL ERUPTS April 26, 1997
BLIZZARD PICKS UMASS OVER UC April 25, 1997
NORTH IDAHO GUARD TO SIGN April 21, 1997
UC GETS SPRING VISITS FROM BLIZZARD, JONES April 19, 1997
UC LOSES OUSLEY TO MEMPHIS April 15, 1997
JUCO PAIR COMMITS TO UC April 14, 1997
BRANNEN: NO FOOTBALL THIS YEAR April 11, 1997
KAMBALA PICKS UNLV OVER UC April 10, 1997
PREP STAR NARROWS LIST TO 3 April 7, 1997
WILLIAMS SAYS HE'S RETURNING April 5, 1997
BRANNEN WALKS ON FOOTBALL SQUAD April 4, 1997
FORTSON: 'I KNOW I CAN PLAY' April 2, 1997
RECRUITING TAKES ON URGENCY April 2, 1997
WOODEN SELECTORS SPURN FORTSON April 2, 1997
FORTSON LEAPS TO NBA April 1, 1997
BEST GUESS: FORTSON'S GONE, AND HUGGINS COULD GO, TOO March 17, 1997
NCAA Tournament stories
MARCH 16, 1997
IOWA STATE 67, UC 66
UC LOSS NOT ALL SURPRISING Daugherty column
BRANNEN BECOMES SCORER
MARCH 15, 1997
IDENTITY CHECK FOR UC
IOWA STATE GETS ASSISTS FROM HOLLOWAY
MARCH 14, 1997
UC 80, BUTLER 69
IOWA STATE IS TALL ORDER
20 MINUTES ENOUGH FOR UC THIS TIME Daugherty column
MARCH 13, 1997
UC'S FORTUNES HINGE ON FORTSON
NCAA LETTER LED TO WILLIAMS INQUIRY
WILLIAMS PUNISHED BEFORE TRIAL Daugherty column
HUGGINS TO OSU? A COMMON QUERY
MARCH 12,1997
GUARD PROBLEMS PLAGUE BEARCATS
HUGGINS QUOTES GILLEN ON OSU JOB
MARCH 11, 1997
FORTSON ALL-AMERICAN
WILLIAMS PREPARES TO START
MARSHALL HAS THE MUSCLE TO CHECK FORTSON
MARCH 10, 1997
UC, XU ON COLLISION COURSE IN SWEET 16
LET FORTSON PLAY, REFS - IT'S HIS TIME Daugherty column
OPPONENT DOESN'T MATTER TO BEARCATS
BUTLER ROSTER HAS LOCAL FLAVOR
