Community leaders meet UNLV president over alleged remarks

Friday, May 8, 1998 | 1:33 a.m.

Harter met for two hours Thursday with the Rev. James Rogers, president of the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP, and Assemblyman Wendell Williams, among others, about the allegations.

"I'm very pleased," Rogers said. "Our main concern was that there be an investigation into these allegations and that has been acted on."

Harter earlier this week asked the university system to probe allegations that athletic director Charles Cavagnaro used derogatory and insensitive remarks toward UNLV black athletes and women athletes.

Several UNLV coaches and administrators also attended the meeting with Harter, who said the discussion went beyond the situation involving Cavagnaro to include diversity issues between the university and the community.

"It was a wonderfully useful meeting," Harter said.

Cavagnaro was not asked to attend the meeting and was out of town.

UNLV football coach Jeff Horton returned from a trip to Phoenix to attend the meeting, and said he supported Cavagnaro.

"It was a very good communication and a good way to get the lines of communication going between the university and the community," Horton said. "But I just know what's happening, and it's that (Cavagnaro) has been convicted in the media prior to any real evidence coming forward."

Various media reports has quoted unnamed sources as saying Cavagnaro used terms like "gorilla," and "monkey" to refer to black players and called softball players "dykes on spikes."

Harter at first said she wasn't going to investigate unless someone came forward with the allegations. But she reversed herself under pressure and an attorney for the chancellor's office is conducting a probe.