I’ve been more cynical the past few days than ever before.

A book being publicized in Atlanta today is essentially questioning University President Michael Adams’ leadership, and the University refuses to talk about it.

I’m not surprised. Administrators want the book to get as little attention as possible.

“Behind the Hedges” calls into question the struggle between Adams and former athletics director Vince Dooley, the split between the Board of Regents and the UGA Foundation, Adams’ fundraising efforts, the relationship between gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan and Board of Regents member Don Leebern and other detailed minutia about Adams’ relationships with big money power players in the state.

The book is written by the late Rich Whitt, a 30-year journalist who worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and won the Pulitzer Prize for investigating corruption in Kentucky.

His credentials seem impressive, and although documents and interviews back up his claims, Adams supporters will do their best to ignore it.

“The book is old news. It’s rehashing issues long since resolved,” Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs, told the AJC last week.

“The book retells one side of an old story that is long since resolved. The University has moved on,” Jackson told the Athens Banner-Herald this week.

No one else will comment on it, and Adams refuses to talk about it today at the Open Mic with Mike event because he hasn’t read it.

That’s the sorriest and most ridiculous excuse I’ve ever heard. He lived all of it, right? I would hope he’d be able to tell his perspective. Maybe they’re having a hard time figuring out how to put the PR spin on every little charge against him.

Plus, it’s not like the book is hard to read. Our sports editor read it Friday night, I read the entire book Saturday and our news editor read it Sunday night after she left the paper late.

He’s hoping this will fly under the radar, but I think completely refusing to comment will only make it worse.

And maybe those involved in the specific disputes are healing, as Yoculan told Channel 11 News last week when asked about the book, but I think the book raises a larger question about how all these conflicts will affect decisions right now.

Adams’ involvement with athletics calls into question how the current basketball coach search will be handled fairly.

Adams’ previous connections with current administrators also places a shadow on the search for provost.

Adams painted his disputes with Dooley and the UGA Foundation as a struggle between athletics and academics. Those who wanted to fire Adams were mad about Dooley, he said, and the AJC ran with it.

It’s Whitt’s belief that Adams has been able to wield so much power because the media hasn’t adequately covered the struggles, especially an audit the UGA Foundation requested, which details aspects of fundraising and mishandling of University money.

As a journalist, this enrages me the most.

Poor choices are going to be made, but if an outside source isn’t checking on it and reporting it to the public, how can we ever expect accountability and discussion?

I’ll give you this, Adams: You have a well-oiled, effective PR machine. The doctorate in political communications certainly has come in handy. You’re personable, well-spoken and certainly have caught me off guard at times. But the controversies in this book aren’t going away.

Students: just read it. The book will hit the shelves on April 6, but part of it is on Google books. You may think decisions about provost or basketball coach don’t affect you, but the reputation of our president and University will certainly affect your diploma value.

- Carolyn Crist is the editor-in-chief of The Red & Black.