The dismissal of Stephen Garcia was a big topic in Gamecock athletics this week.By: Dustin Martin
USC Athletic Director Eric Hyman says the tension between head coach Steve Spurrier and State newspaper columnist Ron Morris over Morris' stories about the Gamecocks became personal when Spurrier walked out during Tuesday's news conference.
Hyman spoke publicly Wednesday night about the walkout and about the decision to dismiss quarterback Stephen Garcia from the team.
"There's going to be disagreements, but what you have to do is you have to keep it from being personal," Hyman said.
Hyman also said he had no idea of Spurrier's intentions at the news conference. Spurrier walked out after telling reporters he would not speak to the media while Morris was present. He did meet with other members of the press individually.
On the same day, Hyman was dealing with the dismissal of Stephen Garcia from the team. Garcia failed a substance abuse test and was released from the team on Tuesday.
Spurrier has said he did not know about Garcia's dismissal until late Monday night. The head coach says he talked with Garcia on Monday saying the quarterback was still one injury away from playing.
"We did have a conversation about having a great week of practice," Spurrier said.
Hyman says he was the one dealing with the Garcia dismissal. Some people think the two events were related but Hyman believes otherwise.
"I will be very, very surprised if it (the press conference incident) had anything to do with the Garcia thing," Hyman stated.
Both Hyman and Spurrier have expressed disappointment for how the Garcia situation played out but neither would go into further details.
