By Michael Kinney
Transcript Sports Writer
Once news hit that University of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops had dismissed two football players from the team, it didn’t take long for word to spread throughout Campus Corner. The business district surrounding the campus woke up from its quiet Wednesday afternoon to the realization that its top-ranked football team was in a world of trouble.
“Right now I’m in shock,” said Tamel Sismey, manger of OU Authentic. “Just in shock.”
A day before the Sooners were set to start practice for a run at another national championship, Stoops threw starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and sophomore offensive lineman J.D. Quinn off the squad. Both players have been accused of receiving payments for work they did not do from Big Red Sports and Imports, a Norman car dealership.
It was not only a devastating blow for a team that has championship aspirations, but also to the people who support the program.
“It’s sad,” said Ron King of Campus Corner Market. “It’s extremely wasteful and inexplicable. How any athlete could make a mistake like that is beyond me. You cannot not work if you have been hired to work.”
King is not only a local businessman but also a former Sooner player. He sees the current situation as a blight, but does not foresee it bringing down the storied program.
“I can’t see it having a long-term impact,” King said. “There may have been a few quarterbacks who were not going to come here because they felt the position was locked up for a few years, who may now consider it.”
But before the Sooners can begin to worry about the future ramifications as far as recruits, they have to replace a signal caller who quarterbacked them to an 8-4 season last year. Stoops also has to get the remaining players to get past the loss of Bomar and Quinn and devote themselves to the task at hand.
“Knowing Stoops and his staff, they will do a good job of keeping the players focused,” Sismey said. “Some of it will be a distraction. But I’d rather it happen now then in the middle of the season.”
It was OU that initiated its own internal investigation and uncovered detrimental conduct by the players. They didn’t release the names, but it was quickly confirmed that Bomar and Quinn were the players in question.
Moore High School football coach Bill Bays said he was not really shocked that it was Bomar who was in trouble. His past indiscretions left a cloud over his head and may have led to the quick dismissal.
But regardless, Bays likes the message Stoops sent with his actions. And he hopes his players are paying attention.
“Stoops did what he had to do,” Bays said. “When you have a player break the rules they have to be accountable. I hope they (high-schoolers) realize they are responsible for their actions. I hope it is a good example. I am sure it was a difficult decision but one he had to make. All coaches sympathize with him.”
While fans seem to understand Stoops’ reactions, they do not know how this could happen with the type of scrutiny programs get from the NCAA. Especially one that has had its troubles in the past such as Oklahoma.
“You would hope they would have learned from the past,” said David James of Arvest Bank. “Big Red should have known better. They didn’t consider the effect on the entire program.”
However, the current ownership of Big Red Sports told WWLS radio no student athletes were working there since they took over four months ago.
“The people that were here before were responsible for that and we bear the brunt of that,” said David Hudiburg, part of the Big Red Sports ownership. “There were none here when we got here and we have not hired any.”
According to Hudiburg, the dealership cooperated with OU in its investigation.
But they feel that has not gotten through to the public yet. For most fans and people on the streets, Big Red Sports deserves just as much blame as Bomar and Quinn.
“We’re getting a lot of phone calls and people are mad,” Hudiburg said. “I’m mad, too. I’m a big sports fan. People are upset and I don’t blame them. They’ve got to understand that it’s previous management that made the poor decisions and that’s why we’re here today.”
Michael Kinney
366-3537
mkinney@normantranscript.com
