E-mailer critical of Mustain draws double reprimand
Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007
Thousands of e-mails flit across the Internet each season about the University of Arkansas football team. Most are ephemeral.
Two e-mails sent in December were different. They had an impact on the team and its fan base far beyond the norm.
One triggered official sanctions against the writer from Coach Houston Nutt, and a personal response from Chancellor John White. The other e-mail was read by Nutt's wife, Diana, and forwarded by her to a Springdale business with a comment that could be considered unflattering toward members of the team from Springdale.
Both were written by the same booster - a Little Rock woman named Teresa Prewett who has ties to the Nutt family.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has obtained university documents related to the two e-mails that Prewett sent to a variety of people on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.
The e-mail on Dec. 6 was addressed to Democrat-Gazette sports editor Wally Hall. It contained several disparaging passages about former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, former Razorbacks quarterback Mitch Mustain, and two other freshman players from Springdale then at Arkansas.
This e-mail was also sent to an e-mail address that Houston Nutt confirmed to the Democrat-Gazette was used by Diana Nutt. Three hours later, Diana Nutt forwarded the e-mail to a business in Springdale, remarking that certain passages about the people from Springdale were funny.
On Dec. 7, Prewett wrote the second e-mail, this one addressed to Mustain. This e-mail began "Hello Mr. Interception King,"and continued with a page of derogatory comments.
A month later, an investigation was begun by the university at the request of Mustain's mother, Beck Campbell. It led to a letter of apology to Mustain from Prewett, a note of reprimand from Houston Nutt to Prewett and a letter to Campbell from White.
As a result of her "Interception King"e-mail, Prewett was banned from the sidelines of Razorbacks football games, a spot from where she had watched at least two games in the past, and forbidden to contact any Arkansas football players. The e-mails may have had other consequences. On Jan. 16, Mustain received the letter of apology (it was dated Jan. 8 ) from Prewett, the same day he announced he was leaving the Razorbacks football program. Campbell said that the two e-mails contributed to Mustain's decision to ask for his release. The polarizing firestorm among the fans that these e-mails helped fuel still burns today.
THE FIRST LETTER Prewett, according to the Dec. 6 e-mail she sent to Hall, is a contributor to the Razorbacks Foundation and has been a football season-ticket holder since 1985. Prewett also said she is also a season-ticket holder in baseball and basketball.
Prewett owns Prewett Physical Therapy in Little Rock. She was Danny Nutt's personal therapist when he was recovering from brain surgery in 1998.
She wrote in the e-mail to Hall that she is "completely loyal to the Nutt family"and that "they are my extended family."
On Dec. 6, Prewett had taken exception to a column written by Hall which ran in that day's editions, and sent Hall an e-mail. This isn't unusual by itself. Hall said he gets hundreds of e-mails a week regarding his columns.
Hall also said that he and Prewett were friends at one time but had a falling out over a column about Houston Nutt that was published early in the 2006 football season.
"She took exception to something I wrote. She didn't agree that I said he shouldn't have run up that ladder and sing. That was it. How do you explain it ? She was like a buddy,"he told a Democrat-Gazette sportswriter in an interview.
But this particular e-mail was also sent to an account that Houston Nutt said is registered to Diana Nutt.
Some of the kinder excerpts from this Dec. 6 e-mail: Regarding Malzahn:
"I am very interested in this man checking out other schools - I am actually begging that he does leave. Do I call him Gus or God ?"Regarding Mustain:
"I have his transfer papers ready. He can go throw interceptions for UCA for all I care. I take that back, I went to school at UCA, so let's send him to Arkansas Tech." "Mitch didn't really want to be a Hog in the first place, and he and his mom can go elsewhere. Is he afraid of competition ? If he thinks he can't beat out Casey Dick with hard work in the spring and summer, then please go. " "This is the SEC. Leave your high school letter jacket at home. Once again, grow up."Regarding "the other Springdale players" (receivers Damian Williams and Ben Cleveland ): "Wouldn't hurt to do a little work on catching the ball consistently in the big games. Doing it every once in a blue moon won't cut it. They need to be excited that they played as much as they did."
'QUITE FUNNY' According to documents obtained by the Democrat-Gazette, this Dec. 6 e-mail was sent to Diana Nutt's e-mail address at 3: 16 p.m.
At 6: 15 p. m., this e-mail was forwarded from Diana Nutt to a Springdale business. Diana Nutt added a note: "I thought you might enjoy reading this. A person we know in Little Rock sent this to Wally Hall, but the Gus and Springdale section are quite funny."
On Wednesday the Democrat-Gazette requested an interview with Diana Nutt through Houston Nutt. Houston Nutt said he discussed the situation with his wife, and said "nothing's going to gained or served by talking to her."
Houston Nutt did say that Diana Nutt received and forwarded the Dec. 6 e-mail to the business in Springdale.
"I did acknowledge, I just found out a couple weeks ago she did do that,"Nutt said. "She admits it."
In an interview with the Democrat-Gazette earlier in the week, Nutt was asked if he felt it was appropriate that someone in his family found the e-mail funny and sent it along to another friend during the football season. Nutt said he didn't want to comment.
Prewett also initially said she didn't want to comment on the Dec. 6 e-mail during a terse interview with the Democrat-Gazette, but then elaborated.
"I responded to Wally like everyone else does after he wrote a column,"Prewett said. "I'm no different than anyone else that responds to Wally.... I gave my opinion to Wally regarding his column. I'm no different than anyone else. This is just a bit ridiculous, actually."
When asked if she felt this email was different because the wife of the head coach read and forwarded the letter, Prewett declined comment.
'INTERCEPTION KING' Prewett's e-mail to Hall on Dec. 6 was by no means the last thing she would have to say about the Razorbacks football program. On Dec. 7 an article appeared in the Democrat-Gazette that discussed Houston Nutt's reaction to a soon-to-be-published book, and some quotes in it attributed to Mustain. In the book Mustain is quoted as calling Nutt a "dork"and described the Razorbacks game plan as the "same old boring offense."Prewett, in her subsequent apology letter to Mustain, said this article is what spurred her to write a virulent e-mail to the 18-year-old freshman quarterback. This e-mail, which Prewett has admitted writing, was sent to Mustain's University of Arkansas e-mail account at 11: 09 a.m. on Dec. 7. At 11: 28 a. m., Prewett sent the e-mail to at least 15 other people, including Arkansas running backs coach Danny Nutt; Lisa Herring, wife of defensive coordinator Reggie Herring; Cathy Nutt, wife of Arkansas State basketball Coach Dickey Nutt, Houston Nutt's brother; and the e-mail address registered to the family of Houston Nutt.
Prewett, who signed the email "Teresa,"made reference to her desire for Mustain to transfer from Arkansas or otherwise play elsewhere seven times.
In the letter Prewett called Mustain a "dork"and much worse.
The e-mail ended with: "Grow up little boy. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I want you to transfer ?"
Mustain read the e-mail on Dec. 8, and immediately sent a copy to Campbell. Mustain declined a request for an interview.
"There had been other negative e-mails,"Campbell said. "This one had information from someone close to the program, and that alarmed me."
On Dec. 8, Campbell sent Prewett an e-mail instructing Prewett to have no further contact with her son, but provided her phone number if Prewett wished to discuss things further. Prewett never called, Campbell said.
That was the last action Campbell or Mustain took regarding the e-mail for nearly a month.
Campbell said because so many people closely associated with the football program knew about the content of the e-mail, she and Mustain believed some corrective action by the university would be taken, and they wanted to give the university a chance to handle the situation.
SILENT RESPONSE The corrective action came, but not until after the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl. On Jan. 5, Campbell sent an e-mail to Chancellor White at 12: 12 p. m., and included Prewett's e-mails in the correspondence. Campbell asked for the chancellor to review the "materials related to the contact, harassment, slander and defamation"of Mustain and determine what to do.
Campbell told the Democrat-Gazette that she went directly to White, and not Houston Nutt, because she was aware that Diana Nutt had knowledge of both e-mails, and no action had yet been taken. Campbell also did not take the matter to Athletic Director Frank Broyles. Campbell said she did not trust either Nutt or Broyles to take appropriate action.
Broyles is out of town and not available for comment, his administrative assistant said Wednesday.
White quickly sent an e-mail response to Campbell at 12: 50 p. m., saying that he was dismayed by the e-mails, and felt like he needed "to take a shower to ensure that none of the filth touched me."White also said he requested a meeting with legal counsel to discuss the matter "and develop a game plan for dealing with it."
Campbell never heard from a University of Arkansas lawyer. However, she did receive a written response from White on University of Arkansas letterhead, and didn't get another response until a letter from White on Jan. 18.
White did not return calls from the Democrat-Gazette seeking comment, and a University of Arkansas spokesman said White would prefer to let the athletic department handle this issue.
In his Jan. 18 letter, White said that after receiving Campbell's initial inquiry, he immediately sent Prewett's e-mail to Houston Nutt and Broyles to review. White told Campbell that Nutt and Broyles said they were unaware of Prewett's Dec. 7 e-mail prior to White's involvement in the matter.
According to Nutt's letter to Prewett, he then instructed Danny Nutt to contact Prewett and have her apologize to Mustain.
In a letter dated Jan. 8, Prewett apologized to Mustain.
"Please accept this letter as my sincere apology for the e- mail I sent to you on December 7, 2006,"Prewett wrote. "After much reflection, I realize that as an adult, my comments to you were very harsh, and should not have been made to an 18 year old freshman football player."
Prewett wrote Mustain that she wrote the e-mail after seeing Mustain's comments about Nutt in the Democrat-Gazette, and that she felt he was "unappreciative"of the efforts put forth in the recruiting process by the Arkansas coaching staff.
She closed the letter by writing "Best of luck in the future ! GO HOGS !"
Although Prewett's letter to Mustain was dated Jan. 8, Campbell said her son did not see it until Jan. 16, when he requested his release from Arkansas.
Campbell said there were many reasons why Mustain asked for his release, but the two e-mails did factor into, and reinforce, his decision.
Prewett would not discuss anything related to the Dec. 7 e-mail when questioned by the Democrat-Gazette.
On Jan. 12, Houston Nutt wrote Prewett on Arkansas Razorbacks stationery, opening by saying that he had recently received a copy of the Dec. 7 email for the first time.
"Your letter demonstrates a complete lack of perspective and is unacceptable, insulting and mean-spirited,"Nutt wrote. "No student-athlete should ever be subjected to the type of personal attack contained in your letter.... As Coach, every member of our team is important to me, and I will not tolerate personal attacks against Mitch or any other members of our team."
Nutt went on to express his appreciation for what Prewett had done to help Danny Nutt, but said he was disappointed in her decision to write the email.
Nutt placed three sanctions on Prewett: Prewett must write a letter of apology to Mustain
Prewett will not be allowed sideline passes to any more football games
Prewett is not to have personal contract with any football players, and the department of computer services placed a filter on the university's network to block any e-mails from her. Nutt told the Democrat-Gazette he felt this was an appropriate response. "There's no question [it was ],"Nutt said. "There hasn't been one other letter or e-mail in that time. Since I called her there hasn't been any problems. My letter was pretty tough, stating basically that if you want to stay in the program or stay where you can come watch games, I don't want you writing my players any more."
CHANCELLOR WEIGHS IN White evidently shared Nutt's beliefs that the coach's response was appropriate. White sent Campbell a letter written on University of Arkansas letterhead dated Jan. 18, two days after Mustain requested his release. Campbell had sent White two e-mails on Jan. 17 inquiring into the state of the investigation.
White wrote Campbell he was "dismayed"that Prewett wrote such an e-mail.
"I condemn Ms. Prewett's email and believe it was inappropriate and inexcusable,"White wrote. "Unfortunately, some individuals have lost all sense of perspective with regard to student-athletes, their coaches and intercollegiate athletics. For instance, I am told that on one message board this season, some individuals suggested that Coach Nutt should be killed as a way to remove him from his position. Not only are such threats criminal acts, but also there is no place for them in civilized society. These types of attacks and threats will not be tolerated."
White disagreed with an assertion Campbell made in her Jan. 17 e-mail that Nutt's letter to Prewett was "weak."
"Coach Nutt was offended by Ms. Prewett's e-mail to Mitch, and I believe he took appropriate steps in response to it,"White wrote. "... I believe corrective measures have been taken in response to Ms. Prewett's e-mail to Mitch."
Asked this week whether it had taken a call from White for him to get involved, Nutt said no.
He said people have written his players harassing letters since his earliest coaching days at Oklahoma State, and he and his staff do the best they can to protect his players.
"I don't know if there's policies [in place ], but I do want to shield them,"Nutt said. "This one got a lot of attention. We tried to handle it ourselves, but this one was taken all the way to the chancellor, all the way to the board. Even without the chancellor getting a call I was going to do something, like I would normally do when I get a couple of these things that go to my players.
"I'll always try to protect my players. I don't like things being said to my players."
On Wednesday, Campbell recalled a conversation she had with Nutt on the day Mustain recommitted to Arkansas in January 2006, when the coach said essentially the same thing.
Campbell said Nutt didn't live up to the bargain.
"No, no he didn't,"she said. "His No. 1 priority should be protecting these kids, as much as he is capable of doing. He would have had to throw one of his friends and his wife to the wolves, and he didn't. It would have been the right thing to do, to protect his players."Teresa Prewett's Dec. 7 e-mail to Mitch Mustain Editor's note: The following has been edited for taste. Hello Mr. Interception King:
Are you having a good morning ? I'm sure you are since your precious name is in the paper again. Why in the hell did you come to Arkansas ? I've been a Hog fan since birth, and a season ticket holder since 1985, and my parents were before that. Who in the hell do you think you are ? Do you really think because you just walked onto campus that you need to be the starting QB ? Competition scares the s *** out of you doesn't it little boy ? This is the SEC for goodness sakes, and by watching you attempting to read defenses in the SEC, it is beyond evident that you were nowhere ready. Your completion to interception ratio was a joke, and you have zero leadership abilities. This isn't Springdale High School anymore, and you need to take your letter jacket off and realize that. This is the real world. Yes, you did win 8 games as a starter, but you were only starting at that point because Casey Dick was hurt. In winning those 8 games, you need to go back to the film room and see that the main reason those games were won was because of McFadden, Jones, the offensive line, and the play of the defense. You did hand the ball off pretty well. You also need to buy Marcus Monk some lunch for saving you another interception against Auburn since the ball was so underthrown. Every once in a blue moon you would throw a touchdown pass, but usually after 3 interceptions. I'm sure you have the talent to become an outstanding QB on the collegiate level, but I hope that it's not at Arkansas. You can win the Heisman for all I care, but please not as a Hog. Please transfer....
You called Coach Nutt a "dork"in your article. Amazing. You know, I was sitting with a large group of people watching your interview that was aired on Game Day before the Tennessee game, you know, the interview where you had on those glasses... everyone in that room started laughing, calling you the dork. Why is it that you came to Arkansas again ?... What a joke ! Gus can't even adjust to the speed of the game in the SEC. Do you think Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame would be putting up with your bull s ***? God, do I ever wish you would have gone to Notre Dame. Too bad I'm not Coach Nutt today.... but that would be after I let you hang out face to face in a private meeting with the offensive and defensive lineman – I think I'd even throw Butu in for the meeting. Did I mention that I want you to transfer ? Helen Keller could read defenses in the SEC better than you.
Well, I've wasted enough time on you today.... Did I mention that I want you to transfer. The next time you think you and your girls are bigger than any one program – you better think again. I would love for you to be able to have a lengthy conversation with Chris Simms, former QB with the Texas Longhorns. He arrived on campus his freshman year in a limo thinking he was the next All Everything, was a smart ass to his coaches, was selfish, pouty, and the prime example of what a "team"player is not. His teammates couldn't stand him, the fans grew to hate him, and he never won a championship. He was finally benched for a QB that had won the Big 12 player of the year award the year before. You see, he walked onto campus thinking the starting position should be handed to him without competition, and it was. He didn't bring it to practice everyday, he was quoted in newspapers showing his lack of character, he blamed everyone else when HE had a bad game …. Sound familiar ? He never EARNED the respect of his teammates, coaches, fans, etc … He too was a spoiled brat. He was nicknamed by everyone "The Golden Child"because that's what HE thought he was. Funny how the smaller, more competitive QB named Major Applewhite, with less credentials, came to lead them to a Big 12 Championship. Funny how that works isn't it ?
Grow up little boy. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I want you to transfer ? Teresa
TIMELINE DEC. 6 Teresa Prewett sends e-mail to Wally Hall at 3: 14 p.m. Prewett forwards message to three others, including Diana Nutt, at 3: 16 p.m. DEC. 6 Diana Nutt forwards the Prewett e-mail to a business in Springdale at 6: 15 p. m., with a notation that includes "the Gus and Springdale section are quite funny."DEC. 7 An article is published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about a soon-to-be published book that includes quotes attributed to Mitch Mustain that disparage Houston Nutt. DEC. 7 Prewett sends a virulent e-mail to Mustain's university e-mail account at 11: 09 a.m. At 11: 28 a.m. the same e-mail is sent to at least 15 others, including Diana Nutt, Cathy Nutt and Lisa Herring. DEC. 8 Mustain reads the e-mail, and sends a copy to his mother, Beck Campbell. DEC. 8 Campbell sends an e-mail to Prewett, requesting that she have no further contact with Mustain. JAN. 5 Campbell sends an e-mail to Arkansas Chancellor John White at 12: 12 p.m. to ask for an investigation into the two e-mails. JAN. 5 White responds at 12: 50 p. m., saying he is dismayed by the e-mails and feels he needs to take a shower to ensure "none of the filth touched me."JAN. 5 White sends a follow-up e-mail at 2: 03 p.m. that says he will investigate the situation with legal counsel. JAN. 8 Prewett writes apology letter to Mustain. JAN. 12 Nutt writes reprimand to Prewett on Arkansas Razorbacks stationery, outlining the sanctions against Prewett. JAN. 16 Mustain requests his release at 2 p.m. This is also the first time he sees Prewett's apology letter. JAN. 17 Campbell sends White two e-mails asking about the status of the investigation. JAN. 18 White writes a response to Campbell on a University of Arkansas letterhead, condemning the Prewett e-mails, but stating that Nutt took appropriate action.
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