Senderoff’s resignation raises more questions

With the opening exhibition game of the men’s basketball season less than a week away, the latest development in Kelvin Sampson’s “Land of Impermissible Phone Calls” includes the resignation of assistant coach Rob Senderoff and the public release of the Ice Miller report, which documents all possible recruiting violations made by the coaching staff.\nIf there is any correlation between the two, don’t bother asking Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan. He will most likely refer you to the Ice Miller report and tout the advantages of collective knowledge. If only IU professors would follow the same line of thought on exam day.\nDuring Tuesday’s teleconference, Greenspan repeatedly referred to the announced resignation of Senderoff as “voluntary” when the timing and circumstances suggest just the opposite. \nConsider this: The IU Athletics Department discovered the first of what would become more than 100 phone call-related violations committed by the coaching staff – most of them attributed to Senderoff – on July 10. IU submitted the Ice Miller report, which thoroughly investigated the matter, to the NCAA committee on infractions Oct. 3. IU went public with the violations Oct. 14. The Ice Miller report went public Tuesday, as Senderoff turned in his pink slip.\nIf IU submitted the complete report to the NCAA on Oct. 3 along with the self-imposed sanctions, why did Senderoff resign this week and not when the violations went public? Senderoff had to know of the restrictions that would be placed on him and the staff since at least Oct. 3, and probably much earlier. He had time to deliberate the matter. He was still on the staff after the announcement – at least until he resigned three weeks later.\nIt is fairly obvious that Senderoff did not resign of his own accord, and it is absurd of Greenspan to suggest he did. Somebody turned up the heat after the violations went public.\nThe fishy smell doesn’t stop with Greenspan. Ice Miller attorney Robin Green Harris said Sampson denied knowledge of participating in all of the three-way calls in question save one. Furthermore, Green Harris said Sampson didn’t use caller ID at home, he simply answered the phone. \nI’m no expert on the phone habits of big-time college coaches under NCAA sanctions, but I would think modern communication technology like caller ID would appeal to Sampson – if only to avoid telemarketers.\nAt this point, the fallout from “phonegate” includes IU’s tarnished reputation and the resignation of a promising assistant coach with the NCAA’s assessment of the situation still pending.\nWas Senderoff the sacrifice the island demanded or the first of more departures to come? Not even Greenspan and his collective wisdom can answer that question.