"Falling off the pedestal is the best thing that ever happened to me," John G. Rowland tells participants in the 2006 World Scholar-Athlete Games.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, July 1, 2006

BY RICHARD SALIT
Journal Staff Writer

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- He didn't mention his conviction for corruption nor did he describe how he sold his office for $100,000 in chartered trips to Las Vegas, vacations to Florida and Vermont and improvements to his lakeside cottage.

Instead, in his first public appearance since getting out of federal prison, former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland often spoke more philosophically than personally in addressing an international gathering of 2,000 scholar-athletes here yesterday. And he plugged a book, Falling Into Grace, which he wants published.

Rowland talked about power -- how we strive for it, how it can then make us arrogant and how we must ultimately avoid its "trappings" by using it "with depth and purpose and meaning."

"Skip over the arrogance part," urged the former rising star in the Republican Party. Still, "falling off the pedestal is the best thing that ever happened to me," he said.

"It seems like just yesterday I was at the White House staying in the Lincoln bedroom and everything was wonderful," he said. "And then almost overnight I'm standing in line for toilet paper at a prison."

Rowland, now 49, completed four months of home confinement just several weeks ago, after serving 10 months at the Loretto, Pa., federal prison campus. He resigned as governor in 2004 as the scandal involving his office unfolded and amid a growing impeachment drive. Before an expected indictment, he pleaded guilty to one corruption charge and was ordered to pay restitution and taxes on illegal gifts he accepted and to perform 300 hours of mandatory community service.

His appearance on the closing day of the 2006 World Scholar-Athlete Games at the University of Rhode Island, however, will not count toward community service, he told reporters afterward. He said he was paid to give the speech, but declined to say how much.

Rowland talked and answered audience questions for less than an hour, addressing a group of students from 155 nations and all 50 states.

Rowland said he wanted to share "some of the experiences of my life and hopefully they will help you with your life." He described having served as governor for 10 years and as a congressman before that, for three terms.

He focused on the danger that athletes, politicians and others face when they achieve success or attain power.

"The truth is, once you reach that power, that pinnacle of success, certain things begin to happen. Arrogance begins to occur," he said.

"We start believing our own press releases. . . . You start believing you're the best athlete, the best scholar. You start to believe that no one else can do it as well as you can. You start getting focused like, you know, it's all about me. My wife would say, 'It's all about me.com.' How I'm going to succeed. . .. You start to block out everything else around you."

Instead of talking about how he personally experienced these issues, Rowland spoke at length about Phil Mickelson, asserting that arrogance led the pro golfer to go for difficult shots and blow his lead in the U.S. Open on the final hole.

He told the group of outstanding athletes and scholars to "be a leader among your peers" upon returning home, but lead "with your heart and soul and spirit."

Many in the audience hadn't heard of Rowland or known how he violated the public's trust.

"People who were not from Connecticut had no idea who he was. The first thing he should have said is this is who I am and this is why I went to jail. These kids really needed to hear what he did wrong," Suzanne Najman, a 37-year-old soccer coach at the games who is from Danbury, Conn., said during a question-and-answer session.

She used her turn at the microphone to press Rowland on his crimes, asking "How could you sleep at night?"

"I didn't sleep well at all," he answered, describing the humiliation he felt as "extraordinary" and his fall as "almost surreal."

Julia Steier, a 20-year-old student from Connecticut, also challenged Rowland during the question-and-answer session, saying afterward that Rowland "beat around the bush" in talking about his failures.

But the audience at Keaney Gymnasium applauded Rowland warmly before and after his talk. One young woman from Texas even apologized to the ex-governor for the tough questions some asked him. Several participants introduced themselves to Rowland after his talk, including Bradley Diggs, a 22-year-old coach from Arkansas.

"It speaks to my heart. It was the perfect message for the last day," he said. He said he didn't need to hear the details of Rowland's misdeeds. "I know that he failed. I could tell he had been tested and gained."

Rowland made the same point to reporters, including several from Connecticut, after his appearance. He emphasized that his message was valuable for the many future leaders in the audience.

"I didn't want to spend a lot of time talking about the specifics of how, why and where. It's not important. What's important is that I'm sharing with them that the trappings of power and the trappings of arrogance can cause the downfall of any athlete or any corporate leader or any politician or any person that has had great success. . . . What's important is there is a life lesson learned that I want to share. . . .

Rowland grew up Roman Catholic, attended Catholic schools through college and is a member of an evangelical church congregation. He told those in the audience that talents are God-given and that some form of faith is necessary to avoid succumbing to arrogance.

"You really only learn from your failures and mistakes in life," he said while talking to reporters. "It's easy to get people up here to talk about success and 'winning is everything' and all of these great messages about the importance of being the best you possibly can be. But the truth is that to deal with the trials and tribulations we all face in life, especially young people these days, you have to have faith and what I call the tether-line to holding on to what's important in life."

Daniel E. Doyle, who founded the games and is executive director of the organization that holds it every four years, said he lives in Connecticut and used to see Rowland at the gym where they both worked out. He recently invited him to speak on the final day of the eight-day event.

"What I found was a man deeply committed to his family and deeply committed to repaying his debt to society," said Doyle in introducing the ex-governor.

The games feature friendly athletic competition; activities in performing, fine and culinary arts; and talks by prominent figures. This year's guest speakers included former President Bill Clinton, skier Bode Miller, former Sen. George Mitchell of Maine and TV commentator Bill O'Reilly.

Yesterday, finals were played in such sports as baseball, volleyball, basketball, swimming and tennis. Meanwhile, dancers, singers and musicians practiced for evening performances, which were to take place before a concert by the Providence rock outfit, Monty Are I.

And then the games were to conclude, until the next ones slated for 2010.

rsalit@projo.com / (401) 277-7467