LITTLE ROCK — A lawyer representing former Razorbacks quarterback Mitch Mustain is requesting information surrounding the University of Arkansas' investigation of an e-mail sent to Mustain while he was a student at Arkansas.
Timothy Hutchinson, of the Rogers law firm Williams and Hutchinson, submitted the Freedom of Information Act request in a letter to Scott Varady, Arkansas' associate general counsel.
"My hope is that the press and fans do not read any more into this inquiry than should be read into it," Hutchinson said Wednesday night. "It is simply an FOI inquiry about records that pertain to Mitchell during his attendance at University of Arkansas.
"I will let the nature of the FOI speak for itself. But much of the request does deal with any findings and reports done with any investigation related to that e-mail."
The e-mail in question was sent to Mustain on Dec. 7, 2006, by Razorbacks booster Teresa Prewett, who is a close friend of Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt and was the physical therapist for former Arkansas running backs coach Danny Nutt.
The e-mail was a page long and filled with derogatory and disparaging remarks aimed at Mustain.
Mustain announced he was transferring to Southern California on Jan. 16, and said the e-mail contributed to the decision to ask for his release from Arkansas.
In the Freedom of Information Act request, Hutchinson asked for any records the university obtained during its investigation into the Dec. 7 e-mail to Mustain. Hutchinson also asked for any information that indicated when members of the coaching staff first learned of the Dec. 7 e-mail.
In particular, the request is seeking results from any investigation that indicates whether any university employee, including members of Nutt's coaching staff, encouraged Prewett to send the email or participated with Prewett in the writing of the e-mail.
Hutchinson said Wednesday that this was not the first step of an ongoing investigation, and he declined to comment on what will happen after Mustain learns the results of the Freedom of Information Act request.
This is not the first Freedom of Information Act request Mustain has filed with the University of Arkansas.
In a March 14 request, Mustain asked for all cell-phone and office-phone records for Houston Nutt and his secretary-assistant and the same set of records for Danny Nutt, Broyles and Broyles' secretary-assistant.
Hutchinson said the current Freedom of Information Act request involves a completely different issue, and is unrelated to the March 14 request.
"At this point this is simply an inquiry into the results of the investigation [surrounding the Dec. 7 e-mail]," Hutchinson said. "Nothing else may happen. I can tell you Mitch has a lot of friends on the football team. This is not intended to be a distraction, it's merely a request made to the administration."
The Democrat-Gazette obtained documents it used for a story published on Feb. 15 that described a type of investigation the university undertook a month after Prewett sent the e-mail to Mustain.
On Jan. 5 Beck Campbell, Mustain's mother, sent Arkansas Chancellor John White an e-mail requesting an investigation into the Dec. 7, 2006, e-mail to Mustain. White responded with an e-mail indicating he would investigate the situation with legal counsel. He then contacted Nutt and Athletic Director Frank Broyles.
On Jan. 8, Prewett wrote an apology letter to Mustain that he received on Jan. 16. On Jan. 12, Nutt wrote a letter to Prewett reprimanding her and levying sanctions against her. Nutt told White he was unaware of the Dec. 7 email before White's involvement on Jan. 5.
On Jan. 18 White wrote a letter to Campbell condemning the Dec. 7 e-mail, but stating that Nutt took the appropriate action.
Wednesday's Freedom of Information Act request is also not the first legal action to be taken against Arkansas in an effort to determine the strength of the university's investigation into Prewett's e-mail to Mustain.
Mount Ida resident John David Terry filed a lawsuit on April 24 naming White and University of Arkansas President B. Alan Sugg as defendants, claiming that White failed to properly investigate the Dec. 7 e-mail.
Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay twice dismissed Terry's lawsuit, the final time on Aug. 17.
However, last Thursday, Eddie Christian Jr., a Fort Smith attorney representing Terry, filed a motion for accelerated appeal and preservation of evidence with the Arkansas Supreme Court as he continues to try to appeal Lindsay's ruling.
Sports, Pages 17, 28 on 10/25/2007