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Trevor Graham, N.C. State At Odds Over Track

Feb 8, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. — Track coach Trevor Graham was escorted off the track at North Carolina State on Monday after officials said his training interferes with physical education classes.

North Carolina State officials said Graham never paid necessary rental fees for the track, filled out liability waivers or provided proof of liability insurance for his runners. Each side said it was waiting on the other to deal with the paperwork.

"We waited for it and still have not received it up to this point," Graham said.

"This information was communicated to Trevor Graham and his group for months, not days. He was advised in writing in December that we'd be enforcing the university's policy on Jan. 14," said Nora Lynn Finch, of the N.C. State Athletic Department.

The school gave him some time, but said it could not ignore scheduling problems.

North Carolina State officials said there was a conflict beginning last Fall between the runners and both the physical education department and the maintenance staff. Graham said he did not know about the conflict.

"I wish we could work everything out because we enjoy training there," he said.

Graham said he was told he must pay $250 daily to use the track for his two-hour workouts. He also said the disruption may force him to pull two of his sprinters from the U.S. indoor championships later in February in Boston. He's also likely to scrap plans to run Olympic medalists Justin Gatlin and Shawn Crawford in the Raleigh Relays next month at N.C. State.

Graham also grabbed recent headlines because of the steroid scandal. He alerted the U.S. anti-doping agency to a designer steroid that drug tests did not detect. Nine of his former and current athletes have either tested positive for banned drugs or been charged with doping offenses.