A former University of Florida basketball player told a federal grand jury last year that he lied to a U.S. attorney in hopes of seeing coach Norm Sloan stripped of his job, a newspaper reported today.
"I just wanted to get Sloan fired," Kenny McClary told the grand jury in Tallahassee, according to testimony obtained by The Palm Beach Post.McClary testified he lied because he had a "very high grudge against Norm Sloan," because he played very little as a senior. His collegiate eligibility ended in 1988.
McClary answered questions from federal investigators looking into drug use in the Gainesville area three times: in Gainesville at the office of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Carl Lilley in early July 1988; in Tallahassee in a sworn statement at the U.S. Attorney's Office July 21, 1988; and in front of the grand jury in Tallahassee Oct. 24, 1988.
In the sworn statement given in July, McClary detailed several allegations against Sloan and assistant coaches Monte Towe and Kenny McCraney. Included was the charge the coaches gave McClary money, which would have been a major violation of NCAA rules.
But when McClary appeared before the grand jury, he testified many of his allegations were lies.