Garrett Draws Mixed Support for His Moves

Despite the public fallout over Athletic Director Mike Garrett’s handling of the John Robinson firing, a member of USC’s Board of Trustees backed him Friday, as did university President Steven B. Sample earlier this week.

“I’m very supportive of the administration, and I’m a very strong supporter of Mike Garrett,” said one of the 46 voting members of USC’s trustee board, speaking anonymously but saying he believed his sentiments reflected those of much of the board.

However, another trustee was upset about the handling of the situation, saying, “I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life.”

There has been an uproar since Wednesday over whether Robinson was mistreated, in part because the hiring of his successor, Paul Hackett, became public knowledge before Robinson received an answering-machine message asking him to call Garrett.

Robinson didn’t return the call and the two men never spoke, with USC stumbling through an awkward news conference the next day at which Sample said he thought Robinson had stepped down.

Sample admitted Thursday, “I was wrong on that point,” but Garrett said Robinson had manipulated the situation and “made himself a victim.”

“It’s unfortunate, but I think [the situation] was created by John Robinson,” the first trustee said, adding that he believed Garrett “tried to do the right thing” because he thought Robinson might choose to step aside. Instead Robinson held his own farewell session.

Garrett, the 1965 Heisman Trophy winner at USC and the Trojan athletic director since 1993, has been praised by Sample for hiring basketball coaches Henry Bibby and Chris Gobrecht and track coach Ron Allice, for graduation rates that reached a USC high of 71% two years ago, and for running a fiscally sound program.

Garrett already has received his annual review for 1997, and Sample praised him at Wednesday’s news conference and continued to back him privately Thursday.

“I’m very, very satisfied with Mike Garrett,” Sample said. “We have a much stronger athletic program than when I came [in 1991]. I give the lion’s share of credit to Mike.”