Now's time for Hedges to light out

The University of Washington is much like California these days, crippled by a wildfire that just keeps spreading, with more people being smoked out all the time: coaches, a former university doctor, and, inevitably, the students they affected.

Worse, the school's reputation has become scorched on a local and national level.

At the center of it all is UW Athletic Director Barbara Hedges, who seems to breathe a rarefied air that tricks her into acting like there's no need to panic or head for the hills.

But it's time for Hedges to draw the same air — the same truths — that we have been choking on for years. Once she does, I hope it's enough to make her evacuate. Now.

Hedges did too little about too many things for too long.

Her former football coach, Rick Neuheisel, became a cottage industry of deceit: recruiting violations in Colorado, lying about his flirtations with the San Francisco 49ers, gambling.

Now there is Dr. William J. Scheyer, whose medical license was suspended for improperly dispensing drugs to UW athletes and trainers.

Reportedly, knowledge that Scheyer handed out painkillers like they were Altoids was widespread among student athletes and coaches. Hedges either knew too little about it (bad), or knew something but did nothing (unforgivable).

Even after Scheyer was asked to step down two years ago, Hedges let him work as a volunteer physician with Teresa Wilson, the women's softball coach, said to be a Hedges pet.

Hedges finally ditched Scheyer just before state authorities announced they had suspended his medical license.

Hedges' response: "I never had a student-athlete complain about Dr. Scheyer."

Of course not. Why would you complain about a guy nicknamed "Dr. Feel Good"?

When I heard that federal and state investigators had teamed up to investigate Scheyer, I had to shake my head. It wasn't that long ago that investigators from the NCAA landed on campus to check out Neuheisel.

Seems like more investigators are making the rounds on campus than potential students. We should have a tour:

Here's the basketball arena, where the men's team was put on probation for two years after assistant coach Cameron Dollar committed 13 major NCAA violations and three secondary violations.

Here's Husky Stadium, where the new statue of former football coach Jim Owens raised ire. When black leaders accused Owens of racist practices during his tenure, Hedges stepped in it again:

"It's certainly not to minimize that period of time that was extremely difficult for everybody," she said. "But his legacy as far as football on the field is concerned is pretty amazing."

In other words, what Owens put on the scoreboard is what really mattered.

And that could be Hedges' legacy, too. She's someone who put scoring new buildings and adding new sports ahead of doing the hard-but-right thing — for the school, the students and everyone still standing behind the Husky name, despite the fires all around.

Reach Nicole Brodeur at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.