Former TRCC employees speak out about Gene Bess reprimand

Gene Bess

A letter received by the Daily Statesman and written by former Dean of Student Affairs John Barham and former Vice-president of Student Affairs Randall Lee, stated that the two were "shocked and saddened" to hear of the board's vote and approval of a reprimand for Bess.

"… we had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Coach Bess, a consummate gentleman, whose first concern was always the welfare of the college and its students and faculty," the letter stated. "Furthermore, we can think of no one who has advanced the cause of the college more than Coach Bess."

Bess has served as athletic director and head basketball coach at TRCC for more than 35 years. He has been recognized as NJCAA National Coach of the Year twice, Regional Coach of the Year and MCCAC Conference Coach of the Year a total of 17 times each. He is a member of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Hall of Fame.

Bess has been labeled by many as the "all time most winning junior college coach." He also serves as a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff.

So why would such an obviously talented and revered coach receive a reprimand? Because of a "secret, one-sided investigation" conducted by the college into a situation involving a freshman basketball player who chose to leave the school, said the two former employees.

"It has come to our attention that, after a former Raider departed Three Rivers prematurely, Coach Bess immediately informed his supervisor, the Vice-president for Student Affairs and Information Technology [Joe Rozman], of the actions taken and received his approval or concurrence," said Barham and Lee in the letter. "Soon thereafter, a secret, one-sided investigation was conducted by that same supervisor resulting in adverse action taken by the Board."

In a copy of the Report of Investigation, written by Rozman and made available to the public because of the nature of the incident, Rozman does admit that he spoke to Bess before an investigation was begun in the matter.

"In May, Coach Bess came to my office to inform me that he had just learned that [a student] was signing with ASU," Rozman said in the report. "He told me he had never been so 'shocked' as he was when he heard [the student] was leaving.

"He said that he knew [the student] had visited ASU but did not think he was serious about leaving," Rozman continued. "In any case, he thought he would have the opportunity to talk to [the student] and his parents before any decision was made."

Rozman said that Bess stated that he believed the student had made a "bad decision" and that he was unhappy with the Arkansas State coach for recruiting the student out of the TRCC program. Bess allegedly told Rozman that since the student had made his decision, he "needed to move on and to let the remaining TRCC players work without him."

"[Bess] told [the player] to stay away from the gym and the players," the report said. "I did not have the impression at the time that these things were said with as much emotion and vehemence as I later heard from [the student's mother] and Coach Nutt."

The report states that various individuals within the community were "upset" with the way Bess allegedly treated the student in a "rude and spiteful manner … and the fact that he told the young man that he could no longer come to the TRCC gym and associate in any way with the TRCC basketball players."

Rozman said that he spoke with the player's mother for at least 90 minutes and with Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt for at least 30 minutes. These conversations lead him to believe that Bess had likely acted in an inappropriate way to the student.

"[The student's] mother believed that it had always been [his] dream to play Division I ball and to do so at a school near Poplar Bluff so his family could see him play," said Rozman. "Prior to attending TRCC, he had thought about signing with UMSL but Coach Bess and Randall Lee had convinced him to try TRCC for a year, which he did."

Rozman went on to say that the student felt that it would be no problem for him to leave TRCC after his first year and so, when approached by Nutt and offered a full three-year scholarship, the student felt that he "could not pass up an opportunity" such as the one offered to him by the Arkansas college.

Nutt told Rozman that he believed all of his actions had been above-board, as he had asked Brian Bess' permission to talk to the player before approaching him. Nutt allegedly told Rozman that "he never would have recruited [the player] if he knew that it would end this way."

Nutt said that he and his assistant coach had sought permission from Brian Bess to recruit the player several times and received permission. It wasn't until he called the player's mother to congratulate her on her son's signing with the college that Nutt would learn of the arising problems.

"He thought surely there must be a misunderstanding and immediately called Coach Bess," Rozman said. "Brian answered the phone and Coach Nutt asked him what the problem was as he, Brian, had given ASU permission to talk to [the player].

"He said Brian shouted at him on the phone and said he had a very big problem with this matter," the report continues. "Coach Nutt then asked to talk to Coach Bess and Gene told him that he was unhappy with the situation and was disappointed with ASU, with Coach Nutt and with [the player.]

"Coach Nutt said that he could withdraw the offer to [the player] but Coach Bess said it was too late for that and ASU could have [the player.]"

Rozman's report states that Bess did write a letter to the family of the player that did not mention the player's ban from the college's gym.

"[The player's mother] later called me and said that Coach Bess had written a very nice note to the family that praised them and [the player]," Rozman said. "However, he never mentioned [the player's] ban from the TRCC gym.

"It's the ban from the gym that really has the family upset. In the beginning of June, [the player] called Coach Bess and asked if he could come to the gym to work out with his former teammates," Rozman continued. "However, Coach Bess remained firm that he could not come to the gym. [The player's mother] said they are saddened in that they feel that neither they nor [the player] can ever come to watch the Raiders play or be a part of being a former Raider family."

However, Lee said that he felt the family felt differently concerning the reprimand.

"The parents of the boy, from the outset, did not want this to happen," said Lee in a separate e-mail to the Daily Statesman. "They are disgusted by it all and embarrassed because they were used.

"They are 100 percent behind Coach Bess."

Both Barham and Lee have stated they feel that the situation has been "blown out of proportion and used to undermine Coach Bess' standing at Three Rivers for some unknown reason." Both men feel that Bess' actions were not out of the ordinary.

"With college basketball's most outstanding record at any level of play, Coach Bess has given totally of himself to his teams," the men said in their letter. "In turn, he has expected the same sort of commitment from his players.

"Those players who have -- for one reason or another -- chosen to leave his team over the years, have generally not expected to retain any of the privileges that had pertained to them when they were members of the team," the letter said. "The same would certainly hold true in any organization -- corporate, educational or otherwise -- requiring a high degree of discipline of its members."

Both men also feel that the current reprimand is another in a long line of events set into motion by the board to have TRCC moved from a Division I school to a Division II school.

"Although one is hesitant to speculate on the motives involved in this extraordinary action against Coach Bess, it is no secret that a topic of discussion with some elements of the leadership at Three Rivers over the past 10 years has been the eventual downgrading of the college athletic program to NJCAA Division II competition," said Barham and Lee in their letter. "Recent action to eliminate the college volleyball program seems to have been another move in that direction.

"Certainly, this would not seem to be in accord with the unique precedents and traditions established during the Bess era. And neither would it seem to be consistent with the wishes of the board's constituency, the citizens of the college district which board members are elected to represent."

A spokesman from TRCC was quick to respond to that allegation.

"There never has been any action or even any consideration by anyone in a position of authority at the college to move athletics at Three Rivers from Division I to Division II play," the spokesman said. "Three Rivers has a lengthy and proud tradition of excellence and competitiveness, not only within our conference but throughout Division I of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

"We are proud of Three Rivers' student athletes and their many accomplishments. As a matter of record, the men's basketball program, consistently one of the best in the nation, currently is budgeted for $42,000 more than last year. Additionally, the college spent more than $100,000 in the last fiscal year for safety and comfort improvements in the Bess Activity Center, where the games are played."

Sacha Champion may be reached via email at schampion@dailystatesman.com