Posted on 05/01/2003 1:18:18 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama coach Mike Price spent hundreds of dollars at a topless bar in Florida the night before a young woman in his hotel room tried to charge more than $1,000 in food and drinks to his bill, according to newspaper reports today. University President Robert Witt issued a statement this morning indicating that he was nearly done with his review of Price’s behavior and would meet with Price and athletic director Mal Moore later in the day.
Witt will update university Chancellor Mac Portera afterward and has called a meeting Saturday with the Board of Trustees’ Athletics Committee and other members "to present and discuss his decision regarding Price’s status as head football coach," the statement said.
"This review involves careers and lives and it has been imperative that it be thorough," Witt said.
The president said Wednesday evening he and Moore were reviewing Price’s "behavior in certain public settings and the appropriateness of that behavior."
Price, 57, spent time at a nightclub called Arety’s Angels in Pensacola, Fla., on April 16, The Birmingham News quoted a dancer as saying.
Price, who was hired in December from Washington State, was in the Panhandle city for a pro-am golf tournament the next day.
"He bought me several drinks. I think he had three private dances in the back area of the club with me," the News quoted dancer "Destiny" Stahl as saying.
Stahl, 36, said Price spent about $200 on her, but nothing happened beyond dancing. In all, Price spent several hundred dollars in cash at the club "buying and tipping all the girls," she said.
"There was no sex, no touching, no lap dancing," said Stahl. "He was a gentleman."
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the next morning, a young woman in Price’s hotel room ordered more than $1,000 in food and drinks charged to his bill. The Advertiser said Andrea Wright, assistant manager of the Crown Plaza Grand Royal Hotel in Pensacola, confirmed that a guest of Price ordered one of everything on the menu.
Dale Peterson, manager of the hotel, declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press today.
The Mobile Register, quoting four workers at the Crowne Plaza who would not agree to be identified, said the woman wanted the food placed in boxes so she could leave with it.
Concerns about the unusual order prompted the hotel to contact Price, who was listed as being responsible for incidental room charges, the Register said. The workers said Price returned later in the day and paid the bill after the woman left. She was not allowed to leave with the order.
Price, who is married, declined comment Wednesday on his actions, saying he could not talk about the review until the university released a statement.
Hours later, the university said Price’s actions were under investigation.
"We are involved in a very deliberative process of gathering information, discerning what is factual, and discussing these findings with coach Price," it said.
Witt said he was in contact with the chancellor and university trustees and hoped "to bring closure to this situation as soon as possible."
The statement provided no details on the nature of the investigation.
The Register quoted an unnamed source on the university board as saying a meeting of the athletics committee would be held Saturday to review Price’s situation.
Speaking in an interview early today with the Birmingham Post-Herald, trustee John Russell Thomas said the reports felt like "another blow to the program."
"How bad is it? We can’t judge that yet," said Thomas.
Another trustee, John England, said "what happens with the coach is the president’s call."
Stahl denied leaving the club with Price, and she said she knew of no dancer who did.
"The club rules forbid us from leaving with people," Stahl said. "We don’t do that. He’s a good man who was here to have a good time.
"I don’t see what the big deal is. He’s like everybody else. He just wanted to admire a beautiful woman."
A playing partner of Price, Tuscaloosa businessman Larry Wilkin, said in an interview he saw nothing unusual the morning after Price’s reported night out.
Wilkin said Price was early to the course for an 8 a.m. tee time and received a couple of calls while on the golf course, including one from his wife.
He should be in the Dem Presidential primary!
Could it be that Destiny Stahl was a graduate of Auburn...???
War Eagle.
Funny, I never knew that a gentleman was defined as a 57 year old dirty old man that goes to topless bars and just gawks on the company dime.
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