LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Georgia alumnus David Roberts says he had good intentions when he helped former Georgia tight end Tyrone Sorrells buy a car, one of the violations that landed the school's football team a one-year probation.
Roberts, who works for AT&T in an Atlanta suburb, is president of a Georgia athletic booster club. His financial assistance to Sorrells is considered the most serious of seven recruting violations cited by a NCAA committee that placed Georgia on probation and reduced the Bulldogs' scholarship quota from 30 to 23 over the next two years.
In an interview with the Atlanta Constitution, Roberts admitted helping Sorrells, who later transferred to Georgia Tech, buy a 1975 Buick Electra for $900, and giving him a total of $290 cash on two occasions even though he was actively helping Georgia recruit players. He said he meant well but eventually realized he was wrong.
Roberts said he had seen Sorrells play football in high school and knew he had a chance to earn a scholarship. He said he discovered the Sorrells family's financial situation was deplorable and he 'wanted to help.'
Roberts said he offered Sorrells odd jobs around his house in Lawrenceville and his mother's house in Buford, Ga., and transporation was a problem.
'I suggested that if he could get a car he could make even more money around town, just knocking on doors and doing odd jobs,' Roberts said.
He said he contacted a bank and arranged a meeting with Sorrells and his mother and they borrowed $900 from the bank in May 1981 to buy a car.
He said he began helping Georgia recruit players in the summer of 1981 by joining a letter-writing team. He said he attended a recruiting seminar in Athens, Ga., in August 1981 during which Coach Vince Dooley outlined NCAA rules on recruiting.
'His attitude was very stern. He was like a drill sergeant,' Roberts said. 'When he covered the rules about such things as cars and face-to-face contacts, I knew at that point that I was involved and I was wrong.'
He said he didn't reveal his links to Sorrells. 'I kept it between me and Tyrone, and I was wrong.'
Roberts said the car he helped Sorrells obtain was wrecked and he arranged at another bank for Sorrells and his mother to borrow $900 for the Buick.
'I didn't go with Tyrone to the bank, but I did make a call and that was a violation,' he said. 'I verbally committed to the bank that I would stand behind Tyrone's loan.'
Roberts said he gave Sorrells $200 when he fell behind on the car payments, and later gave him an additional $90. He said he eventually paid $524 for the Buick because the bank threatened to foreclose.
He said he realized he was wrong under NCAA rules, but he and Sorrells 'had become close friends.'
'What I did may be wrong according to the NCAA, but I was just trying to do what society teaches you to do -- help your fellow man,' he said. 'The NCAA has its rules and I broke those rules. But personally, I have a rule of my own, and that's to do unto others as you would like for them to do for you.
'My mistake was not telling Coach Dooley of my relationship with Tyrone from the beginning.'
