“We need to convince him that our approach is the easiest way for him to do his job and accomplish his goals, then,” Dad said.
“I’m still concerned that this may be a mistake,” Mr. Morris said.
“Isn’t Indiana one of the states that requires only single-party consent for recordings?” I asked.
“You aren’t planning to record this meeting, are you?” Mr. Morris asked.
“I don’t think David should answer that,” Dad said.
There was a knock on the door, and Special Agent Bryn came back into the room. He sat down and looked around at each of us.
“I’ve just been on the phone with my superiors and have walked them through the situation. Given that you’re insistent on going through with this meeting, we’re going to go along with your suggestion. It seems to be the most straightforward way to keep everything out of the public eye.”
Then he looked straight at me.
“I hope for your sake, young man, that the FBI does not have cause to regret this.”
I tried hard not to breathe a big sigh of relief. And I resisted the urge to smile over at Mr. Morris. Things were looking up!
From this little meeting, something became crystal clear to me: if you ever got into a serious fight, you didn’t bring only your sports attorney. I would have to remember that he was only there for navigating the NCAA and other sports-related matters, not fighting battles with the FBI.
My other thought was that what I’d always suspected was true. The FBI was way scarier than the NCAA. I just hoped that the NCAA believed that too.
◊◊◊
Dad had privately volunteered to wear the bodycam for the meeting, and we hadn’t actually told our lawyers about it. He reasoned that the focus would be on me. I wanted the recording because I wasn’t in a very trusting mood. I was wary of both the NCAA and the FBI, and I didn’t want to be put in a situation where something wound up being forgotten or got twisted.
We were finally invited into the meeting with the NCAA, and the tenor in the room was completely different from when I’d first visited them almost a year ago. I spotted the reason why when I saw that Stewart Chadwick there, smiling grimly at me. I was willing to bet my Dodge Demon that he’d been in their ears, relating his side of the story.
In addition to Stewart, there were four others I’d met previously. Those four were Mark Ellison, NCAA President; Jim Phelps, Member of the Governance Committee and AD, University of Michigan; Jackie Davis, Chairman of the Initial Eligibility Waiver Committee; and Steve Anchorage, Chairman of the Amateurism Fact-Finding Committee. There was another man present who I’d not met before and later learned was Mr. Chadwick’s boss.
Mr. Ellison introduced everyone on his side.
“Normally, we let our investigative group handle something like this. It is out of courtesy to Mr. Morris that we are meeting with you. If he didn’t have such an outstanding reputation, and if he had not told us of the seriousness of the situation, we wouldn’t be here today,” he said.
“Thank you for seeing me,” I said.
“Before we get started, I want to introduce you to everyone on my side of the table. At the end is Rob Dawson, my father. Next to him is Mr. Morris, who helped arrange this meeting. Then there is Ms. Addison, my criminal attorney,” I said and glanced over at Stewart.
I was happy to see the little smirk on his face falter, just a touch. I paused for dramatic effect.
“Finally, I would like you to meet Special Agent Bryn of the FBI.”
From the looks across the table, it was apparent I’d just set a fox loose in the henhouse. The only one who didn’t seem intimidated, although he’d apparently been surprised, was Mr. Ellison. Then again, as NCAA president, he was well-connected and had taken the government on a number of times—and won.
“I am curious as to why the FBI would be involved,” Mr. Ellison said.
“How about I show you some video and play you a few audiotapes? That might help you see why he’s here,” Mr. Morris said, taking the lead.
Once he was in presentation mode, I was happy with his performance. He knew how to talk to the NCAA team and walked them through our recorded evidence while giving them background information to provide the proper context.
Things heated up when we reached the tape of my conversation with Stewart Chadwick in California. Stewart looked like he was about to explode, and he apparently wanted to say something. But the FBI presence had him off-balance and out of his comfort zone. I surmised that he realized anything he said at that point might actually get him in more trouble with both his superiors and the FBI. He also didn’t know whether the FBI had been involved in its being recorded.
Once we reached the point where he said he refused to be taped and I made my show of turning off all the recording devices, he finally couldn’t help himself.
“Stop! You can’t show that without my permission,” Stewart barked.
“This isn’t a legal hearing. It is simply information that has been gathered. I think you need to see this,” Mr. Morris said.
