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Against the apparent imperfections in the Post story and the magazine's hasty journalism, the Atlanta jury could weigh the testimony of an array of witnesses called to the stand by Post Attorney Welborn Cody—among them Georgia President O. C. Aderhold and members of the school's athletic board. Butts, they said, was a man of "bad character"; they testified that they would not believe him under oath. One after another, they characterized the former Georgia coach as a man who dabbled in loan companies on the side and numbered known professional gamblers among his friends. William C. Hartman, who served as Georgia's backfield coach until 1957, testified that in November 1960 he and a group of university alumni had urged Butts to resign as Georgia football coach. They had been disturbed, said Hartman, by reports of frequent Butts appearances "at nightclubs in the company of girls."
Casual Journalism. Though his character had been questioned by the president of the very university where he had served so long, Butts and his lawyers were able to offer quick rebuttal. Dr. Frank Rose, an ordained Disciples of Christ minister, who is now president of the University of Alabama, testified that he had carefully investigated the charges. He had found no evidence, said Dr. Rose, that any information of value had been passed between Butts and Bryant. And he had said as much in a letter to President Aderhold.
"Is everything you have testified so far in this case true, so help you God?" Butts's attorney William Schroder asked his client as he wound up his case. "Yes, sir," said Wally Butts. This week, the only questions that remained were whether the jury believed him and, if it did, just how much the Post's casual journalism had damaged his reputation.