A Football Scandal Roils Whitman College

The entire student body at Whitman College is in a torment of excitement over the letter written by Coach Knight of the University of Washington accusing Wiley Lasater of dirty play in the game at Seattle on Saturday last. The sentiment of everyone is that such work cannot be tolerated. Further investigation seems to show, however, that there was no foul playing on the part of Lasater, but that in order to gain notoriety for himself after the game he made some such boasts as appear in Knight's letter. Lasater flatly denies playing foul ball at all. He says that he hit Speidell only once and then in a perfectly legitimate manner with his shoulder. He declares the charges about stealing the ball are equally unreasonable because the officials could easily have noticed that and called him down.

The members of the team agree to these statements unanimously. Lasater also says that a few chance remarks made by him at the reception were twisted and garbled by Knight in his published letter, and that Knight was guilty of a breach of confidence, because when he talked with him at the reception he agreed that everything should be confidential. He claims that Knight said: "I won't tell anybody; it won't get any further out." The members of the team, however, seem to agree that Lasater conducted himself in a very foolish manner and made substantially all the statements ascribed to him. They say that Lasater did not play a fierce game at all, but seemed to be afraid. Brainard, who was field captain, would not say much on the matter, but when asked if Lasater played dirty ball replied: "I did not see him play much ball of any kind." The members of the team are without exception very indignant at Lasater, and many of them declare they will never go with him on another trip. They are pretty sore over his bringing such a disgrace on the college simply to make what they call a grandstand play for himself. The charges about kicking a player in the head are denominated by the boys as "rot."

President Penrose's Statement.

President Penrose, on being shown the letter of Coach Knight and after investigating the matter, made the following statement:

"The charges made by Mr. Knight are very serious. Whitman College never has stood for that kind of athletics, and both students and faculty heartily repudiate that kind of play. In regard to the statements I would say that if they are true they show the utter unfitness on the part of Lasater to play on this or any other team. They would show a brutality utterly unworthy of college athletics and a spirit which the faculty and students of Whitman College would not allow to go unpunished. If on the other hand, as seems to be the opinion of the members of the team and of Professor Allen, manager and coach, the claims of Lasater to have played foul ball were only the loud-mouthed efforts to gain notoriety on the part of one who had conspicuously shown his incapacity and cowardice during the game, they mark the boaster as an ass who does not deserve to represent Whitman in any capacity and who ought to be disqualified on that account. In either case a very serious injury has been done the college which cannot be allowed to go unnoticed."