The most unethical recruiter in the industry

I saw a posting about Jack Sells from Nashville, TN. He is a former coach from the Tennessee Volunteers that was fired for recruiting violations. Ironically, he is now a recruiter. He financed his recruiting firm from a lawsuit he won against Kinko's.

After his termination from Tennessee, he sought revenge by faxing the Tennessee play book to the defensive coordinator at Florida. He faxed this at the local Kinko's in Tennessee. Half way through the fax, the Kinkos employee noticed what it was and turned Jack Sells in. Jack then sued Kinkos. The scandal is known as "Fax Gate". This occurred in 1991.

Since this time, Jack still does unethical things with his fax machine. Specifically, if he sets you up with an interview, he will fax you Action plans and field research completed from previous candidates. Thier names on still on the plans. Secondly, if you interview with Bard, he will even fax you the Bard interview questions and help you answer the Bard personality test so you score high in the categories they are looking for.

I attached a copy of an article that apeared in 2002 when Zook got promoted to head coach of Florida when Spurrier left. Zook is the guy that Jack Sells faxed the play book to...

Sept 17, 2002

By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Jack Sells was a scorned former assistant at Tennessee, hoping to help a friend. Ron Zook was the new defensive coordinator at Florida, trying to figure out how to stop the Vols.

Together in 1991, they hatched the southern-fried football scandal known as Faxgate. It was a convoluted caper that, 11 years later, seems laughable to practically everyone except the guys who were responsible.

No. 4 Tennessee plays No. 10 Florida on Saturday in a renewal of their intense Southeastern Conference rivalry. On Tuesday, Zook was in no mood to reminisce about one of his more embarrassing moments in coaching.

"It has nothing to do with this game, it had nothing to do with the game in '91," Zook said, his eyes darting around the room, looking for another question. "It was way overblown."

In the past 10 years, Florida's tuneups for Tennessee were pushovers as the lopsided scores indicated.

Sells has an unlisted telephone number. His mother, Betty Sells, said her son is out of football now.

"He has a very professional job," she told The Associated Press from her home in Nashville, Tenn. "He's not interested in football at all. And he's not interested in talking to you."

Zook and Sells became friends in 1986, when Zook worked as a defensive backs coach at Tennessee and Sells was a graduate assistant, moving his way up the Vols' coaching ladder.

Among the few things Zook and Mrs. Sells would divulge is that the two families remain friendly - as friendly as they were in 1991, when a very interesting fax showed up at Zook's office in the Florida football complex.

The pages were full of diagrams of plays from the Tennessee playbook, information Sells had become privy to over his years as an assistant with the Vols.

Sells was fired in June of 1991 when Tennessee found him guilty of NCAA recruiting violations. Apparently, he had no qualms about sending the information to Zook, who was in his first year as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator.

Since then, Spurrier has often joked about Florida having copies of Tennessee's playbook and vice versa, and none of that mattering much - if only because these teams know each other so well.

Even Zook conceded Tuesday - under a different line of questioning - that not much has changed in the Tennessee playbook over the years.

"Tennessee is doing the same things they did in 1984 and '85," Zook said.

But when the story broke, around the time of Florida's 35-18 victory over Tennessee, Sells denied having faxed anything to Zook, and Zook and Spurrier denied receiving any improper information.

"I'm not even going to comment," Zook said at the time. "This is getting ridiculous."

But really, it was just starting.

Zook's denial was debunked when newspapers in Knoxville found a copy of a fax cover sheet from a Kinko's copy service near the Tennessee campus.

The cover was dated Oct. 9, 1991 - three days before the Tennessee-Florida game. The fax was directed to Zook at "U.F.A.D." The sender's name was listed as Jack Sells, and included his home telephone number.

Newspapers said a Kinko's employee recognized Sells and stopped the transmission after about 10 to 15 sheets. The employee then called the Tennessee athletic department, which sent an assistant to the copy shop to collect the pages.

Ten days after the story first surfaced, Zook knew he had been caught in a lie. Spurrier admitted Zook had received the pages, but said neither he nor Zook had intended to mislead the public by stating they hadn't received anything improper.

"I told you what I knew," Spurrier said at the time. The issue was made even more touchy because in 1991, Florida was just coming off NCAA probation for, among other things, improperly spying on upcoming opponents.

Sells later sued Kinko's, accusing the business of violating his privacy, damaging his reputation and destroying his career.

In the lawsuit, Sells claimed he was harassed constantly by Tennessee fans, one of whom he claims punched him in the mouth in a bar in Chattanooga

"I guess Jack's got him a brand new house somewhere," Spurrier joked in 1995, around the time the lawsuit was settled. The terms of the settlement are undisclosed.

Like Spurrier, Vols coach Phil Fulmer is among those who doesn't take the 11-year-old caper too seriously anymore. Fulmer was an assistant for Johnny Majors when the story broke in 1991.

Asked if he was concerned if any of his assistants might be paying a visit to the copy shop this week, Fulmer replied: "I don't think so. I sure hope not, anyway."

 

I encourage all people in the industry to call his office and let him know that you will never use his services and highly discourage anyone from doing the same!

 

Wow! The truth shall set him free.

 

you are a loser for trying to pull someone down like that. what happened, sounds like you are bitter because you are a sucky candidate that couldn't interview with the poonfeeding he gave you. he helped me get in contact with a great company and I got the job. cut the guy a break, everyone makes a mistake. what if i cam on here and called you out about the gay orgies you had in your hotel room at your pharma company's national meeting. you are scum.

 

Jack, I bet you posted that last one yourself. That's just your style as you are unethical, unprofessional and simply dishonest.

 

There are an overwhelming amount of candidates and recruiters that know Jack Sells has a bad name in the industry. I am glad to see the truth posted about him to expose his unethical pattern of behavior.

 

If you haven't figured it out by now, 90% of recruiters are scumbags. They work for the hiring company, not you. They get paid to place people and do whatever it takes to do it. If you don't like his rah-rah style, then don't use him. If he gives me some info that helps me get a job I want, I'm more than happy to take it from him.

 

what a jerk

 

I got a call from a recruiter who is working a position w/ him. I forwarded the newpaper article regarding this joker on to her. She was MORTIFIED and will refuse to work w/ him ever again. I mean she couldn't believe it! No more co-commissions com'n your way from that source, Jack.

 

I mentioned his name to a recruiter I know in Dayton, Ohio and she reiterated what this site says, that he's unethical and has a bad reputation in the industry.

 

As one of the above posters stated most recruiters are somewhat unethical. Always ask the person if they are working as a retained search firm, or if they are headhunting.

 

Firstly, none of the slappies on this site would EVER get a call from a recruiter on anything but a contingency search. Retainers are for very Sr. level positions (such as VP of Sales...MAYBE). If a recruiter is calling people on this board and saying they are retained they are lying. BOOK IT.

 

Us recruiters are a sly bunch, place scum Rx reps, make lots of $ and work 9 to 5. not bad huh ?
Go detail and buy the dr another lunch and don't forget to leave a pad and pen set.

 

nice

 

True

 

funny

 

Seacrest out!

 

Another thing his lawsuit money bought him was a big beautiful home in the prestigious gated golf club community in Brentwood, TN called the Governors Club.

 

This guy does not even have any respect from his own peers.

 

jen price is pretty bad too