Mar. 2, 2001: NCAA relents, allows money to go to Means
The Commercial Appeal, March 1, 2001
By: Gary Parrish
The NCAA ruled Thursday that Lisa Means will be allowed to accept donations to keep her family from being evicted as long as those who contributed to a fund in her name are not University of Memphis boosters.
"I am so happy that the NCAA has responded positively to the heartfelt charity of so many Memphis people," said Arthur Kahn, a former federal prosecutor who established the "Lisa Means Recovery Fund" and spearheaded the movement. "I never doubted for a second that the NCAA would see the light or, if they had to, feel the pressure and make a fair and sound decision, which they have." Lisa Means is a single mother of six children - one of whom is Albert Means, a U of M football player who allegedly had his talents sold by fired Trezevant High coach Lynn Lang to the University of Alabama for $200,000.
The story has garnered national attention. When it became public knowledge that Lisa Means owed roughly $3,500 in back rent and had been served an eviction notice, the community rallied in an attempt to raise enough money to prevent the family from becoming homeless.
But the NCAA said anything Lisa Means accepted would be considered an "extra benefit" and could cost her son his eligibility.
That's when Kahn surfaced, established a fund to accept donations only from people who have no affiliation with the U of M, and said if the NCAA didn't allow the Means family to accept the money, he would file a federal lawsuit.
It never came to that.
"I can go to bed in peace now," Lisa Means said. "I want to thank everybody for being there for my family. It's really a blessing.
"I'm very happy. I'm at peace. My family is at peace. And now I just want everything to go back to normal like it's supposed to be."
Curt Guenther, U of M director of communications services, said the school filed an appeal with the NCAA on behalf of Albert Means within the past week. On Thursday morning, the U of M received a response from the NCAA stating that its appeal had been granted, contingent on the donors to the fund not being supporters of the Memphis athletic department.
Guenther said the U of M is now in the process of determining that.
And when it is confirmed, he said, the money can be disbursed legally to the Means family.
"My understanding is that we simply have to compare names of the donations to donor lists here," Guenther said. "It shouldn't take long."
Local radio station WDIA-AM also had helped set up an account on behalf of the Means family at the Memphis First Community Bank on 4230 Elvis Presley.
Jeffrey Rosenblum, a local attorney who is representing the "Lisa Means Recovery Fund" on a pro bono basis, said he wasn't sure whether the NCAA granted the appeal because the fund is in fact not a violation of its extra-benefit rule or because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the case.
Attempts by The Commercial Appeal to reach the NCAA for comment were unsuccessful.
Kahn said there is currently $3,400 in the fund - set up at Arthur's Wine and Liquor, which he owns - and that even if the rest of the money isn't raised to pay the back rent, he will underwrite the remaining balance. He began the fund with $1,000.