By Stan "The Fan" Charles

Debbie Yow  (Maryland Athletics)

John Feinstein

At the outset let me say John Feinstein has always been a journalistic idol to me. I did not graduate from Duke University. I also have not authored 25 books containing both fact and fiction.

Having said that, I do know in most introductory journalism classes, students are taught the proper ethical concerns that bring about the need for full disclosure. So, for purposes of disclosure let me say, Feinstein has been a solid acquaintance of mine going on at least 15 years.

Mostly because of his notable achievements, the relationship has consisted of my sucking up to him and asking him to come on this or that radio program so I could have a guest I admired and he could hawk his latest book. We have never been social friends nor have we had any type of business relationship.

On the other hand, former Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow and I have become friends over the past year.

Our friendship started in an attempt to "air out" problems PressBox and the University's athletic department sensed on both sides. As athletic director of the Terrapins, she has been in a position in which she could have authorized the spending of advertising dollars with PressBox, which she never actually felt the need to do. At this meeting, in which we were expecting to go toe-to-toe in talking about our disagreements, a funny thing happened -- we actually got along quite well.

The timing of this meeting was approximately two months after her sister Kay had passed away. As it worked out, it was about the same amount of time from the fallout of basketball coach Gary Williams' "dust-up" with her. In our meeting, Yow actually began to berate herself in how she handled the situation.

"I feel bad about that," Yow said. "I could have been more supportive of him at the time."

I have always had problems with the active persona of Williams. While respectful of his success as a coach, there have always been those self-entitled moments, and to me that episode was one of his worst.

"Debbie, you're beating yourself up about this," I said. "Your sister was dying and then had just died. … That was the time Gary had to pick to make his points about his importance to the program and go up against you."

It's a rare case when one can say they remember when they became friends with another person. I am quite sure that was the moment for us.

My agenda now is to defend Debbie Yow, and I have disclosed the nature of our relationship. However, if you read the curiously-placed story on Feinstein's "Life on the Brink" blog disparaging Yow, there is nary a word with regards to the writer's relationship with Williams.

Perhaps in this day and age of ego gone amok, Feinstein assumes readers know who his buddies are. But disclosure in this case could have dulled his dexterous skills in disemboweling someone.

Williams and Feinstein got to know each other in the early 1980s when Williams got his first college head coaching job at American University. Williams befriended at least two Washington Post sports reporters, Tony Kornheiser and Feinstein. There was certainly nothing wrong with that on either side.

In 1983, after a four-year stint at AU, Williams got the coaching post at Boston College, replacing his mentor Dr. Tom Davis. Successful early on, Williams was on the fast track and by 1987 had landed at Ohio State.

But his alma mater needed him, so by the summer of 1989 after three seasons under Bob Wade of 36-50 and with sanction on the horizon, Williams came back to College Park. A few years after Williams' return to Maryland, Feinstein started his now long-running, two-day college basketball tournament (now a one-day tripleheader). The key hook to the establishment of the BB&T Classic was the yearly appearance of Maryland in the event.

Far be it from me to criticize an event that has raised nearly $10 million for the Children's Charities Foundation, founded to distribute the money raised from this event. Feinstein and the others that work so hard to conduct this event deserve praise.

But, from a journalistic point of view regarding Feinstein's words, when someone's choice of topic is to go after and eviscerate someone who was clearly an adversary of someone you are close to, and you fail to disclose that relationship, that denies the reader vital information.

To think, Yow had the audacity to want to win and still maintain a modicum of educational veracity within the cesspool of what big-time athletics has become. That's her crime? And for that, Feinstein opines she "pretty much kept the trains running on time." Oh, really?

Regarding the fact that so many people don't like to work for or with Yow, it's easy to find disgruntled former employees of large companies who have nothing nice to say about their former bosses.

Yow was far from perfect. I agree with Feinstein the coach-in-waiting idea in football with James Franklin was a dumb idea. But, all in all, Feinstein can defend his friend and I'll defend mine. At least I'll tell you up front we're friends.

Idealism dies hard. As stated at the outset, Feinstein was a journalistic idol of mine. But this one piece of work has me thinking hard about what his relationships were like with his subjects in his other works.

One Terps fan I know, an old dirt farmer who has seen through Williams' act for years, yet consistently rooted for the Terps and loved Yow, went so far as to say, "I see another book coming; he ain't kissing Gary's ass for nothing."

John, he said it; I didn't.

IKE WHITAKER UPDATE

PressBox recently published a story on former Maryland high school football star and Virginia Tech wide receiver Ike Whitaker, who was signed to a two-year deal with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. Whitaker, 23, was released from the team last month along with several of the team's veterans.

Whitaker continues to pursue a career in football and has scheduled a workout with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League.

Issue 151: July 2010