COLORADO Ex-players defend suspended coach

The former Buffalos say Gary Barnett provided discipline and morality.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A half-dozen former Colorado football players defended their suspended coach Thursday, saying Gary Barnett has provided discipline and morality despite accusations that recruits were lured with sex and alcohol.
Current players, meanwhile, said they hoped the current scandal would bring the team closer together as they prepare for spring practice -- without Barnett.
"He plays a big part in organizing everything," tight end Quinn Sypniewski said. "But the other coaches are able to pick up when he's not around."
Barnett was placed on paid leave Wednesday night for criticizing the ability of former player Katie Hnida after she said she had been raped by a teammate in 2000. He said she was "not only a girl, she was terrible," a comment university officials said was unacceptable given the seriousness of her allegation.
Another incident
Colorado president Elizabeth Hoffman also said she was dismayed by comments attributed to Barnett in a 2001 police report filed by another woman who said she was raped by a football player.
The report quoted an unidentified woman saying Barnett told her he "would back his player 100 percent" if rape charges were pursued. The woman, like Hnida, declined to file charges.
Barnett will remain on leave while a special committee investigates the Hnida case and lawsuits by three women who say they were assaulted by players and high school recruits during or after an off-campus party in 2001. The committee's first meeting will be March 2.
In all, football athletes have been accused of rape in seven cases dating to 1997.
Jobs on the line
Hoffman and other university officials have said only that everyone's job is on the line, including that of Barnett. University Regent Jim Martin said putting Barnett on leave was the right move.
"Having said that, he should not be the fall guy for the culture," Martin said. "I'll guarantee you, Gary Barnett is not the problem with that culture. Gary Barnett is a football coach. Football is a big entertainment business.
"This goes to all levels of the university, and while he made disparaging remarks about Katie Hnida and sex assaults that happened on his watch, he is not the only individual that ought to be looked at."
Mistake
Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" Thursday night, Barnett conceded he probably shouldn't have answered a reporter's question about Hnida's ability as a player.
"I understand how it looked. I took a question maybe I shouldn't have taken," Barnett said. "I was trying to communicate that we cared about Katie, that we were going to any extent we could to help her achieve her dream of being a college football kicker."
The investigation must conclude by April 30, which means Barnett will miss spring drills scheduled for April 2-24. An interim head coach, most likely a current assistant, is expected to be named this week.
Former players called an impromptu news conference to defend Barnett and say media coverage of the scandal has gotten out of hand. Former quarterback Charles Johnson said the players decided on their own to show support, without knowledge of the university or the football program.
"We believe coach Barnett is a man of high moral integrity," Johnson said. "We believe he is doing the right things. A balanced story is not being told."