The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-28
The Line-Up.
COACH WHITNEY
 MAKES STATEMENT

Coach Whitney of Georgia, on whose shoulders the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association placed the entire blame for the recent Georgia scandal has made a statement concerning the affair from Sewanee. He denies being wholly to blame, and stands ready to give detailed testimony.
 His statement follows:
 Now that the heat of the University of Georgia criticism is somewhat passed, Isfeel that in justice to myself, and to whatever friends may have, some state ment of my connection with this affair is due from me.
 However l do not wish in any way to duplicate the chancellor of the university, the faculty, the physical director. or the captain, nor do I care to mention other individuals by name. l have spent the entire season of 1906 and three -fourths of 1907 as football coach of the University of Georgia. During 1906 I do not believe our worst enemies would accuse us of playing ineligible men, and the same con dition would apply to university athletics during the fall of 1907 for the first five weeks of the present season.
 Soon after the Tennessee game, played October 12, at Athens. a strong movement was started among the alumni to better
  especially for the occasion of the annual Georgia-Tech game to be played only two weeks or more later on. As coach of the team I naturally knew that the players brought to Athens to aid the team had played good football somewhere, although dia nnt search into the details of ob- taining or maintaining them. That is h....s.A q coachs affair No money was ever paid by me to any of the men. I was coach of the university team, and I had the choice of two evils And as l now view the situation I chose the greater even rather than the lesser. l should have refused to handle these men furnished to me, but I did not do so, and in this l was in error.
 Tt hardly seems fair to me that the coach of the team should be publicly dis sraced without an opportunity to defend himself or to state just how far he was to blame, and where the responsibility ended. Of course l can see very clearly how l offered myself as a scapegoat by leaving Athens. l wish also to make this statement with reference to my leaving the university, that I left the institution with the voluntarily expressed good will whom l had came in contact in the per- wrom 1 had come in contact in the per- formance of my duties as coach. l was not asked to leave. but left the univer- sity of my own initiative and free will ten days after the Georgia-Tech game before newspaper reports were published. which brought the investigation to crisis wish further to state that while my past ten days have been spent at Sewanee with friends I have in no wise connected myself with the football team, nor have I coached them in any way at all.
 T disclaim absolutely all initiative in the Georgia matter I have always en- deavored to treat newspaper men courte- ously, and regret the abuse some of them wish to heap upon me. am not retreating from any careful investigation of my part of the unfortunate situation at Athens, and I stand further to render detailed information, although do not care at all to place myself in the position of an informer with regards to those associated with me in connection with football during the season past. Yet one or more of these very men may not hesi- tate to make me the scapegoat of the whole situation.