Okey episode haunted by rampant rumors

By Dennis Chaptman
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Oct. 21, 1997

Madison — The decision to hush up the reasons for Sam Okey's suspension from the University of Wisconsin basketball team has backfired, scorching Okey's reputation.

That strategy — arrived at by UW basketball coach Dick Bennett in consultation with Okey and his family — unleashed a flood of rumor and innuendo that has deepened the controversy.

The latest example appeared Tuesday in a report in the Madison Capital Times. The newspaper cited a single, unnamed athletic department source as saying that Bennett confronted Okey about marijuana use, but reported the source would not say who alerted Bennett to the situation.

It is clear that Okey's reputation is not pristine and carries a couple of run-ins with police over underage drinking. But that is hardly rare on the UW campus.

One of the incidents came to light after the suspension was announced, and a Madison television station surmised that was the cause of the suspension. It was not, and the station was forced to backpedal.

Okey, the Badgers' leading returning scorer, was suspended Friday for two weeks of practice, two exhibition games and the Badgers' first two regular-season games, against Marquette and Illinois State.

Bennett has been adamant about not revealing the details of the violation, creating a storm of interest and a media feeding frenzy. All of that may have magnified the scope of Okey's misdeeds.

It certainly has kept the issue prominently in the headlines and on the airwaves, probably doing more long-term harm to Okey than a simple recitation of the facts.

Okey's situation became fodder for a radio call-in show Tuesday morning, with callers rampantly speculating on a case they know little or nothing about.

The whole episode has not helped the image of Wisconsin basketball, and Badgers players are tiring of the piecemeal leaks of information that may or may not be true.

"It wears on your mind every day, having to read about it," UW senior point guard Ty Calderwood said. "The allegations keep coming out, and everybody asks me each and every day, 'What's wrong with Sam?' "

Okey's father declined to confirm or deny the report about Okey's marijuana use.

"All I can say is that Sam said, 'They're dragging my butt through the wringer,' " Louis Okey told the Journal Sentinel Tuesday.

The elder Okey said Bennett's suspension and the widespread publicity it generated had been difficult for his son to handle.

"This is very hard on him, being away from his teammates, especially when it looked like it would be such a good year, and hopefully, it still will be," Louis Okey said.

But given a chance to refute The Capital Times' report, Okey's father said only, "I don't want to make comments on his private life. . . . I guess I'm just not going to make any comment."

Okey could not be reached for comment.

Bennett said Tuesday night that he had not read the account.

"I wouldn't comment, and I doubt whether I will, but if there's a need to make a statement, I'll evaluate it," Bennett said.

Bennett said he was not frustrated with the media accounts.

"It's the way of the world. You live with that," he said. "We try to protect the parties involved as much as possible. Sometimes it's not possible."

Calderwood said he had spoken with Okey several times since the suspension was handed down.

"He's taking it hard. You can see it in his face," Calderwood said. "He's ready to come back, move on and shelve it, if he can."

Calderwood said players were eager for the controversy to fade.

"We're ready to embrace him when he comes back, without a doubt," Calderwood said. "Sam feels bad and knows how much we need him. We just want to move on with it and get it over with."

Bennett has also sidestepped questions about the reasons for Okey's suspension, other than to say it was for disciplinary reasons. In a news conference Monday, Bennett said Okey's transgression did not involve legal authorities.

"We've tried to be pretty open with the media. It's a policy I prefer," Bennett told reporters. "You can choose to handle it however you wish, but our position is not going to change."

Okey, who last season averaged 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, has had a difficult off-season. Last June, he injured a knee in the Badger State Games, missed tryouts for the World University Games and spent most of the summer in rehabilitation.

This fall, he has been bothered by tendinitis in the injured knee.

Since the suspension, an alcohol-related incident involving Okey and Madison police has come to light.

According to police records, Okey was warned by police for underage drinking at a campus-area bar on Aug. 12.

An anonymous caller told police there were underage drinkers in the bar, and that they included Okey. After police arrived, Okey and two women were given breathalyzer tests and Okey registered a 0.05 blood-alcohol level, while the women showed trace amounts. The legal level for intoxication in Wisconsin is 0.10.

The report states that police wrote Okey a ticket for the violation, but agreed to hold it until his 21st birthday Nov. 4 and destroy it if Okey was not seen in a tavern before that date.

It was the second alcohol-related offense involving Okey in little more than a year. In June 1996, Okey was cited by Whitewater police and fined $334.50 for entering a tavern and using a fake identification card.

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