January 15,1945

Mr. Asa S. Bushnell

Central Office for Eastern
Intercollegiate Athletics

Madison Avenue and 43rd Street

New York 17, New York

Dear Mr. Bushnell:

Day Hdgar has handed me your pleasant letter about our recent edi-
torial on basketball gambling.

You are right in assuming that we were in touch with Phog Allen
before publication of the editorial but, frankly, I do not feel at liberty to
retail the information that Allen gave me in confidence. I feel sure, however,
that Phog himself would be only too glad to tell you anything and everything
that he told me. As evidence of my sincerity in this statement, I am forward-
tng a OOpy of this letter to Doctor Allen.

I should point out, however, that our editorial was an aound:
exclusively on Allen's information. I personally talked to more than a dozen
top-flight coaches before publication of the Post editorial and, As iia
our statement was on the mild side.

I do not wish to bore you with my personal opinions, but I do
believe emphatically thet you officials of collegiate athletics are asking
for a poke on the jaw by your something-less-than forthright handling of a
nasty messe As you doubtless recall, we had a potential national scandal here
in Philadelphia last winter. While Ingerman was eventually found "innocent,"
the status of college basketball was certainly not improved by the ugly whis-
pers that went unchallenged for weeks. As a matter of fact, there are a lot
of people, including some sportswriters, who still think young Albie would
never be mistaken for Snow White.

For last-minute evidence that you are still far from over the hump
on the gambling matter, I refer you to the attached clipping about Nat Holman's
dramatic gesture in the Garden Wednesday night. Now I ask you! Should a col-
lege coach consult the gambling odds before deciding on his strategy?

The reason I am writing you at such length is that I want to make
my own end the Post's position completely clear. In common with millions of
other people, we have a deep interest in, and respect for, college sports.