John Powers

I don't want there to be any doubt. I don't want anybody I'm working with to be surprised. And I have only once in my career had an athlete claim that he thought he was off the record with me. And that was 30 years ago when I was a young reporter at The Post. I got sent to the home of John Riggins, the star running back who was holding out

I don't want there to be any doubt. I don't want anybody I'm working with to be surprised. And I have only once in my career had an athlete claim that he thought he was off the record with me. And that was 30 years ago when I was a young reporter at The Post. I got sent to the home of John Riggins, the star running back who was holding out

And he was in Lawrence, Kansas, and he was refusing to talk to anybody in the media. And I was the low guy on the totem pole at the Post. And my boss said, just go knock on John Riggins' door and see if he'll talk to you, which I did. And John Riggins basically said, get out of here. I'm not talking to anybody. And I said to him, look, John, if I go back with nothing, I'm going to be fired. Right.

And he was in Lawrence, Kansas, and he was refusing to talk to anybody in the media. And I was the low guy on the totem pole at the Post. And my boss said, just go knock on John Riggins' door and see if he'll talk to you, which I did. And John Riggins basically said, get out of here. I'm not talking to anybody. And I said to him, look, John, if I go back with nothing, I'm going to be fired. Right.

And he was in Lawrence, Kansas, and he was refusing to talk to anybody in the media. And I was the low guy on the totem pole at the Post. And my boss said, just go knock on John Riggins' door and see if he'll talk to you, which I did. And John Riggins basically said, get out of here. I'm not talking to anybody. And I said to him, look, John, if I go back with nothing, I'm going to be fired. Right.

And he looked at me, said, I'll call your boss and tell him that I wouldn't talk to you. And I said, that's not good enough. Can't you just tell me what it is you want? And he started talking about that it was the Redskins move and Bobby Beathard, the general manager, needed to do this and that. And I never took out a notebook. And I stood there and I asked him more questions.

And he looked at me, said, I'll call your boss and tell him that I wouldn't talk to you. And I said, that's not good enough. Can't you just tell me what it is you want? And he started talking about that it was the Redskins move and Bobby Beathard, the general manager, needed to do this and that. And I never took out a notebook. And I stood there and I asked him more questions.

And he looked at me, said, I'll call your boss and tell him that I wouldn't talk to you. And I said, that's not good enough. Can't you just tell me what it is you want? And he started talking about that it was the Redskins move and Bobby Beathard, the general manager, needed to do this and that. And I never took out a notebook. And I stood there and I asked him more questions.

And we talked for, I don't know, 10 or 12 minutes. And I went back to my car, wrote down everything I could remember and Didn't quote him specifically, but paraphrased everything that he had said to me in the story. And when another TV reporter called Riggins the next day and said, why would you talk to that guy when you're friends with us and you don't even know him?

And we talked for, I don't know, 10 or 12 minutes. And I went back to my car, wrote down everything I could remember and Didn't quote him specifically, but paraphrased everything that he had said to me in the story. And when another TV reporter called Riggins the next day and said, why would you talk to that guy when you're friends with us and you don't even know him?

And we talked for, I don't know, 10 or 12 minutes. And I went back to my car, wrote down everything I could remember and Didn't quote him specifically, but paraphrased everything that he had said to me in the story. And when another TV reporter called Riggins the next day and said, why would you talk to that guy when you're friends with us and you don't even know him?

Riggins said, well, I thought we were off the record. And when the guy called me from the TV station and said, John said he thought you were off the record. I said, did he really think I flew to Lawrence, Kansas because I was personally curious about his contract? And that's the only time anybody has ever said to me, geez, I thought we were off the record.

Riggins said, well, I thought we were off the record. And when the guy called me from the TV station and said, John said he thought you were off the record. I said, did he really think I flew to Lawrence, Kansas because I was personally curious about his contract? And that's the only time anybody has ever said to me, geez, I thought we were off the record.

Riggins said, well, I thought we were off the record. And when the guy called me from the TV station and said, John said he thought you were off the record. I said, did he really think I flew to Lawrence, Kansas because I was personally curious about his contract? And that's the only time anybody has ever said to me, geez, I thought we were off the record.

It's the hardest thing you have to do, at least for me. And I have run into it specifically, as I wrote about in the book, with Jim Valvano, who I had a very close relationship with. I would sit in his office when he was the coach at North Carolina State and had won the national championship at three o'clock in the morning and listen to him talk about looking for the next thing in his life.

It's the hardest thing you have to do, at least for me. And I have run into it specifically, as I wrote about in the book, with Jim Valvano, who I had a very close relationship with. I would sit in his office when he was the coach at North Carolina State and had won the national championship at three o'clock in the morning and listen to him talk about looking for the next thing in his life.

It's the hardest thing you have to do, at least for me. And I have run into it specifically, as I wrote about in the book, with Jim Valvano, who I had a very close relationship with. I would sit in his office when he was the coach at North Carolina State and had won the national championship at three o'clock in the morning and listen to him talk about looking for the next thing in his life.

And he felt as if he'd done coaching at the age of 37. And then came this scandal, for lack of a better word, at North Carolina State where the NCAA came in and investigated and Jim eventually was forced to resign. And I wrote at one point that he sounded Nixonian when he was making his excuses for what had gone on at NC State. And he was furious with me. And he said, how could you

And he felt as if he'd done coaching at the age of 37. And then came this scandal, for lack of a better word, at North Carolina State where the NCAA came in and investigated and Jim eventually was forced to resign. And I wrote at one point that he sounded Nixonian when he was making his excuses for what had gone on at NC State. And he was furious with me. And he said, how could you

And he felt as if he'd done coaching at the age of 37. And then came this scandal, for lack of a better word, at North Carolina State where the NCAA came in and investigated and Jim eventually was forced to resign. And I wrote at one point that he sounded Nixonian when he was making his excuses for what had gone on at NC State. And he was furious with me. And he said, how could you