The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543694
28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER pieces of stereo equipment that were later determined to be worth $800. CHRIS WASHBURN: "The room was occupied by William West and Jeffrey Da- vis, football players at NC State. I knew they had a stereo in their room. I thought it would be a good joke if I took the stereo. I wasn't planning on keeping it. So, I snuck through his window, grabbed the stereo, put it outside the window, and jumped out. I then took the stereo and left. "I was planning to put the stereo back eventually. I thought that would end the matter. Well, the roommate came back to the room and saw that the stereo was missing. But instead of calling the cam- pus police, he called the city police, and it became a big incident. … When I got to my apartment with the stereo, the police were waiting for me. I was arrested and taken to jail." It was the real world for Washburn. Val- vano could not protect him. Washburn was interrogated by the police, just as any other suspect accused of theft would be. In a twenty-seven-minute taped inter- rogation, Washburn told the police, "I was going to give it back." His defense contended it was a stupid prank and that Washburn should be let off lightly. But he ended up spending time in jail. CHRIS WASHBURN: "It was awful. I had to spend about a day and a half in jail. I was in the cell by myself. No contact with anybody. I had time to think. If I had any sense, it should have been a time for me to reflect on how I got to that jail cell. But it would take me a long time before I would do any reflection on my life." Washburn was charged with second- degree burglary. The judge gave him a sus- pended six-year sentence and placed him on probation for five years. Meanwhile, he would remain in school and on scholar- ship. The trial took place on February 4, 1985. Washburn's defense attorney, Dan Blue, told the judge, "This young man has to be punished. He recognizes that. While there must be punishment, we hope the punishment does not close the doors to his future." Washburn faced a maximum sentence of forty years in prison, but he was sen- tenced to a mere forty-six hours in jail af- ter he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges stemming from the theft of the stereo equipment. The judge also sen- tenced Washburn to a jail term that coin- cided with the anniversary of the incident. The term would begin at 6 p.m., Thursday, December 19, and end on December 21 at 4 p.m. That was the time during which the stereo was reported missing. Under the terms of his probation, Washburn had to perform 420 hours of community service at a center for children with intellectual disabilities in Raleigh and twenty hours washing and refueling police squad cars. The sentence also included provisions that he get mental health treatment and pay $1,000 to a crime victims fund. The judge asked Savannah, Washburn's mother, who sat behind him in court, if he was guilty of the charges, and she re- sponded, "Yes, sir." NC State struggled with what to do with Chris Washburn. The university was mum, and Valvano refused to comment on the situation. On his weekly radio show. Valvano told the press, "I, myself, have no comment at this time. It's a university matter right now. It would be inappropri- ate for me to make any comments at this time." The university left Washburn's pos- sible return to the team up to Valvano. The coach said he would ask professional counselors to recommend what would be in Washburn's best interest. "Some professional opinions, I believe, are im- portant," Valvano said. He did not give a timetable for his decision. On February 8, Valvano got into a con- frontation with a two-man television crew outside his office. He grabbed the camera lens and berated the reporter. The footage was aired on television that night. Val- vano defended his action, claiming the reporters were hounding Washburn and that they were "very rude." Meanwhile, the controversy widened to include the North Carolina State's admis- sions standards for athletes when Wash- burn's academic records were entered into the public court records. The records showed that Washburn's combined SAT score was 470, which placed him in the lower five percent of males in the nation who took the test. The score was well be- low the 1,030 average achieved by fresh- men entering the university. His high school grades consisted mostly of Ds and Fs in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades, which improved to Bs and Cs in 12th grade after transferring to Laurinburg Institute. Washburn's IQ was listed as eighty-six, based on a test he had taken in the sixth grade. The records also showed that Washburn had a learning disability in the "language area." All of the revelations about his academic record were embarrassing to Washburn, but he refused to let it faze him. CHRIS WASHBURN: "I had an aunt who would tell me, 'No matter what you do in life, keep your head up. You're too big to walk slumped over and your head down. Whatever you do in life, keep your head up After his two seasons in Raleigh, Washburn was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the third overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. PHOTO COURTESY WILDBLUE PRESS