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GAMECOCK '' I I II III IWI I I mi I III mm wmilium an n m?wi? II Bill ) ! ! a * III* mil I liiin I mm i"i ii'i"ii uh'u Opinions t\_. ??v?rn v ny iviifvfj LUUUH lobtmiinb Lditor . ] NEWS ANALYSIS There arf many questions that need answering concerning the resignation(s) of ' former USC Head^ Women's basketball ' Coach Pam ParsonsT Parsons is nowhere to ' be found and the university can't say 1 anything because of an agreement made with Parsons' attorney. J The Lady Gamecocks were 7-0 and ranked * second in the nation on Dec. 31, when * Parson's first letter surfaced. Why would she resign? What were the1 "serious con- < ditions" with health? Who was involved? t Where is Parsons now? What agreement c does the university have with Parsons? And i the big question, did she resign the first J time? < [ I i i jTo-. ^ (-X? : fd-ZfGt\(X^\ I j *=Jl fas-, \ddw> (L# Uj)Jl<f ! n . / | AiW C jjxjisdJLL- (pl$ ^ j ?Mr^(/?/ I fh*hi> IF* & _ ? M.UI11 wmmm opn wm?m mbm U wasn't Strong Con' These questions could be answered, but if. they were, libel would enter the proceedings, and no one involved can afford a lawsuit. Under an agreement with Parsons and her attorney, Jean Toal, the university cannot discuss the incident. Parsons has been out of town since the second resignation .Tan d Parsons, however, appeared on the Cable Mews Network in Atlanta and was inerviewed by CNN Sports Anchor Craig Sager. "At 3:45 p.m. that afternoon (Jan.4), I )fficially did resign from the university and he basic reason was our philosophical iifferences in relation to how women's ithletics should be run," Parsons told >ager. "I believe there should be an inlependent status of women's athletics and I mm wmmm -mmmr-ymmmr mma^^mam? mmmm mmmhuhi mmm mmmm mamm mm an i I I ^ I A H H i nv. j ^ fad' A / A f] / ^ H W-hUM ?$2 ot- 1 I 4e ^([ 4) { / -c/a *ki uo^r 4 j I C^o Z)/iV CLo I K I I I ten mm. _ mm- mmtm _ mmmm mmmm mm*. ?? W- c? w mmmi ?*" nothing else was talked about. "It was not forced at all," Dickerson said. But what about those reasons of health? The players noticed no difference in her health. "That really made it kind of worse," prize recruit Medina Dixon said. She thinks it was . forced. "I believe so. Because I don't think she'd resign with the team she had this year." Bill Goldstein is a close friend of Parsons and her unofficial spokesman. He agrees with Dixon. "Well, I've been there from the beginning and the only letter she submitted was the one on Jan. 4," Goldstein said. "That's it." cerning Re! believe that women ought to run the program. Without that kind of cooperation, I felt no desire to coach at South Carolina." While philosophical differences were part of the reason, there was more. Over the holidays, sources said, two players spent time at Parsons' house. The parent of one player complained to the athletic department. Parsons resignation then came out on Dec. 31. Ron Dickerson is the assistant athletic director of non-revenue sports. That means he oversees all sports except basketball and n? ? > luuiuau. mai aiou uicdiia lie was riti&uiia superior. "She personally handed it to me," Dickerson told the Gamecock. "There was conversation, but I won't go into detail on what we talked about. Outside of what was stated in the letter," Dickerson said thatr j ' I ! . THE LETTER OF RESIGNATION. A photo-copy of Pam Parsons' resignation letter submitted on Dec. 31 is shown to the left. It reads: To: Ron % Dicker son From: Pam Parsons Subject: Resignation. I am formally resigning my duties as head basketball coach due to serious conditions with my health. I will not be able to continue at this time to do my duties and therefore want to have this be effective as soon as possible. I I * I As for the first letter, Goldstein said "that's the university's Droblem '' As in the Jim Carlen firing, the phrase "personal life" pops up with Parsons. Different people will tell you what that phrase may mean. In cleaner terms, it means personal relationships with players. CNN's Sager confronted Parsons with related rumors. "It's not our purpose to deal with rumors and we don't report on rumors, we report on facts. However, there have been some rumors circulating that mm/ i Q ...uj nave UCCII Ifie reason you left South Carolina." "At least checking on it, I talked with __ signation "I don't think she'd ... * i-i-1- ? a i csigu wiui me team ?she had this year." C ? Medina Dixon * , mkc' , #$i- -i u acvei ai people and they tolfl me you had problems with your team, that personally you had been involved with some of your players on a personal relationship off the court. Now, were these just rumors or do you think this is why you did have to leave?" Parsons response: "Well, if in fact that's the reason, then I think that there would be a time and a place Lc discuss that. I also b^lipvp that i haven't I a changed over the four-and-a-half years that I've worked there. Again, being second in the nation at the time of the season, I really question that as a valid reason....I've , see papr 14