An author whose book exposed the recruiting culture that led to the crippling NCAA violations at Ole Miss will return to his Columbia roots next week for a book signing.
Steve Robertson, a Mississippi State football recruiting writer, will appear from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Second Street Bean next Wednesday. Robertson’s book, “Flim Flam: The Truth Behind the Blind-Faith Culture that Led to the Explosive NCAA Investigation of Ole Miss Football,” was recently released.
“I graduated from Columbia High School in 1990 and am still very much a Wildcat,” he said. “This is a really big deal for me to come home. I’ve heard from a lot of former classmates and teachers that are going to try and make it. It will make it that much more special. That’s the joy of coming home; you can reconnect with who you once were.”
Robertson described his book as one that focused on the “most flagrant instance of infractions since the SMU death penalty case Feb. 25, 1987.”
“I’ve kind of jokingly referred to it as the true story of the false narrative,” he said. “From the beginning of this process, there have been so many people reluctant to pursue this process or really tell the story or dig into it. I had people that contacted me that were having some frustrations with the in-state media that said they had shared their tales or stories or details and could never get anywhere with it. They couldn’t get any traction or couldn’t get any interest from people, despite the fact of them having physical evidence and real insight as to what was taking place. I just found that perplexing.”
Robertson said that while there were NCAA investigators in Mississippi, many media outlets did not cover it.
“The more I dug, the more I found,” he said. “They actually had a Committee on Infractions meeting this week and so the investigating process is over. Now they’re going to simply await their punishment for the misdeeds. The book is about the investigation, but it’s also about the culture that enabled some of these things to take place. I draw a lot of parallels to the Billy Brewer cases of the early ’90s. It’s repetition of some of those same issues – this rampant booster involvement with Ole Miss recruiting. Part of the story is even despite some of Ole Miss’ efforts to curtail some of the boosters, they were incapable of doing so.”
Robertson said the book involves some of the older issues but mainly involves the current case.
“These allegations came to light as early as 2010,” he said. “This is something that has gone on over a matter of years. It isn’t some sort of fly-by-night thing. It wasn’t just one rogue booster doing things. It’s really kind of systematic and systemic issues.”
Robertson is currently busy on tour with the book and plans more writing in the future.
“I’ve been offered a contract to write the sequel to Flim Flam,” he said. “There’s a lot of interest in that and a lot of interest from the readership. I’m considering that. Right now, I’m just going to enjoy the Flim Flam wave and get out and talk to readers and enjoy the book tour. Once football season is over, I’ll get serious about the next project. There are a lot of things I want to do over the next few years. I’ll probably look at doing the second part of this story next.”
The book tour is keeping Robertson busy these days.
“The day before I come to Columbia I’ll be doing a Q&A and book signing at Lemuria in Jackson and then I’ll be in Columbia on the morning of Sept. 20,” he said. “That evening, I’ll be at Main Street Books in Hattiesburg and lunch on the 21st I’ll be at Reed’s in Tupelo.”
The 312-page book is available at many booksellers or at www.flimflamthebook.com.
Pictured Above: Steve Robertson will have a book signing Wednesday. | Submitted Photo
