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CENTRAL OFFICE FOR EASTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Biltmore Hotel, Madison Avenue and 43rd Street
New York 17, N.Y.

Asa S. Bushnell, Executive Director
December 21, 1944.

Dr. Forrest C. Allen
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas.

Dear Phog:

I should have sent you long since a more detailed answer to your
letter of October 23 than the mere acknowledgment which did go forward immned-
jately upon its receipt. I apologize for allowing a lot of work here in the
office to spoil my good intentions in the matter.

My thoughts still sugar off to the opinion which I expressed in
my original communication regarding the gambling matter. I feel that
publicity for rumors, second-hand reports, and alleged happenings can only
do harm to college basketball and other collegiate sports, whereas I am certain
that your sincere desire is to gain protection against possible damage to campus
athletics. Perhaps you have seen the editorial in the Saturday Evening Post's
December 23 issue, entitled "The Gamblers Move In on College Sport"; this
item illustrates my point. The article lists your charges, and then goes on
to say that the episode of their airing “did suggest to a lot of people that
their estimate of college athletics ought to be revised again - end downward”.
Thus, in consequence of the publicity imumerable people now undoubtedly be-
lieve that two boys were persuaded by gamblers to "throw" a college basketball
game, though the authorities at the institution which the two boys in question
represented were convinced after exhaustive investigation that such was defin-
itely not the case. Believing this much, those people will also believe that
many other boys have “thrown” games, and further that "the fix will be on”
in countless other contests in various other branches of sport. And, in
addition, these people will convert many others to the belief that faith in the
integrity of intercollegiate athletics is misplaced.

It seems to me that your wisubstantiated story, if told to the
N.C.A.A. instead of the AP, would have been highly beneficial instead of
harmful. It would then have helped and inspired the N.C.A.A. to the sort of
action which that organization should take in eliminating evils from college
ssprts ami in preserving all of their many good features. We should all work
everlastingly to have the N.C.A.A. assume responsibility for investigation and -
if needed - for correction also of problems such as that growing out of gambling
on basketball. -

There is no doubt of the facts that professional gamblers are