UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday. October 19. 1995
3B
Phillips responds on radio show
The Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips, who was indefinitely suspended for hitting an ex-girlfriend, yesterday broke his silence about the trouble he faced.
In a telephone call to an Omaha radio talk show, Phillips said he
agents had called him.
"I could have just left," he said, "... I'm going to school. I'm going to do what's right."
Phillips is awaiting sentencing Dec. 1 on the misdemeanor charge. Coach Tom Osborne said Tuesday that the junior from West Covina, Calif., could return to practice next week but would not play for at least the next two weeks.
An Omaha radio station KFAB held a talk show airing caller comments on the possibility of Phillips'
return to the team. Phillips himself called the station.
Phillips said that it was just killing him how people were talking as if they knew him and the situation.
Lincoln on Satur-
Osborne said No. 2 Nebraska would be without Phillips at least until the Nov. 4 game against Iowa State. He said Phillips would not play against No. 8 Kansas State in
Lincoln on Saturday or against No. 9 Colorado on Oct. 28.
"What will happen beyond that, I don't know, but he will not play in those two
The 6-foot, 215-pound star tailback was kicked off the team Sept. 10 after attacking a former girlfriend, Katherine McEwen, a 20-year-old Nebraska basketball player.
games," Osborne said Tuesday. "He probably needs at least two weeks of practice before he can play effectively in a game."
Osborne said he would not allow Phillips to practice or play until his student status was cleared up.
Phillips was suspended the next day. But Osborne said that keeping football as an option for Phillips was the best choice for the running back.
"Believe me, right now bringing him back doesn't necessarily make us a better football team," Osborne said. "He's a great player, and when he left the team, he was playing about as well as any I-back we've ever had ... but you're going to change the chemistry of the team; there's going to be a lot of media uproar. It isn't a case of bringing him back to win games."
He said a report prepared on Phillips by doctors at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kan., following a two-day visit indicated that the 20-year-old running back was not psychotic or dangerous.
"I hope for his sake he can return this season," Osborne said. "I'm a little thin-skinned about comments like, 'Well, we're just waiting, and we're going to bring Lawrence back when we really need him.'"
Another potential hurdle for Phillips remained. The University's Student Judicial Board announced that Phillips had violated the student conduct code and was subject to potential sanctions, including suspension and expulsion.
Bills coach recovering from surgery
The Associated Press
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy was in satisfactory condition yesterday at Roswell Park Cancer Institute following prostate surgery, his doctor said.
"Marv is recovering smoothly," said Robert Huben, Levy's physician.
There is a chance the Bills coach could go home this weekend. he said.
Levy, 70, learned this summer during a physical before training camp that he had cancer, and he underwent surgery on Tuesday. He kept the news about his cancer from his team until a meeting on Monday morning.
Huben, chairman of the urologic oncology department
at Roswell Park, said there was a 60-80 percent chance of a complete cure if the tumor was confined to the prostate.
Levy hopes to rejoin the Bills on Nov. 12 for their game against Atlanta. He will watch Buffalo's practices and games on video until then.
Assistant coach Elijah Pitts has stepped in for Levy until he recovers.
Pitts said he and a few other coaches likely will be involved in play calling for short-yardage and goal-line situations, something Levy usually handles on game day.
The Bills, off to a surprising 5-1 start and in first place in the AFC East, are not scheduled to practice again until today. They play in New England on Monday night.
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