Ollie Discrimination Lawsuit

[intlzncster]

Sad. I always supported Kevin and , although I recognize these tactics stem from his lawyers—he had to agree to them— and I’m very disappointed in him. Whether he succeeds in arbitration or not, he’s not exactly walking away financially abused as evidenced by his recent 2.5M sale of his Connecticut home. I still wish him well but he’s lost my respect.

More than half of that will go to his wife, and he's paying his lawyers a tidy sum.

Doubt he sees a dime from that, unless there's some offset for a buying a new apt that I don't know about.

 

[intlzncster]

Well we agree. But over and over I hear this is all on Ollie. That is not the case in my opinion.

Agree here too.
It's not all on Ollie and some of the takes here on race warrant the more nuanced takes you've offered.
I still wish they'd settle, but I do think that KO is seeking more than is warranted.

If you guys do think the racial component is worth looking at in a more nuanced fashion, then what about this:

1. If he was winning, and we were competing successfully on a national scale, do you think he would be fired?​

2. If it were a white coach who had put forth the results Ollie did in the last few years, would he have been fired? And for cause as well?​

My answers are unequivocal:

1. No.​

2. 'Yes' to the first. And 'No' to the second.​

This is why I think calling for 'racial discrimination' is a silly move in a general sense, and nothing but a lawyer's tactic in reality.

 

[auggie22]

This is unbelievably naive. Do you hold it against Tom Moore that he not only failed to report the Nate Miles incident, but was actually implicated in it? Of course not. It was a petty violation that we got railroaded by the NCAA for. KO got railroaded for his petty violations by his own school. KO sucked towards the end and his life was spiraling out of control. Just fire him for that.

KO was outed to the NCAA by the father of one of the players. Glenn Miller was interviewed as part of that investigation, and sang. The NCAA was at the doorstep not by UCONN or Glenn Miller’s choosing.

It is hilarious that the most non-sensical, emotional and over the top posts in this thread all have one thing in common: likes by Kathy and champs.

 

[UconnFanDC]

'Cashapp'. I've never seen this one. Only used Venmo and Paypal.

I learned something new in this thread!!

Is it good?

Yes, I can't actually say it's better but compared to others, I've found myself using it more then PayPal and Venmo. Seems to be what most have reverted to using.

 

[UConnRock]

We keep hearing that the violations committed by Ollie were less severe than those committed by Calhoun. The Miles investigation of Calhoun found no direct connection between Nochism and all Calhoun was charged with was "failure to create an atmosphere of compliance" and that Calhoun should have known and stopped what happened. Conversely, Ollie was charged with a series of violations, some minor and some potentially major. More importantly, he was charges with the cardinal sin of violations; lying to the NCAA. The lying is what got Bruce Pearl suspended and fired from Tennessee.

Ollie's team made a preemptive more in initiating the discrimination suit before the NCAA finalized their report on his violations. I am not sure what he thought this would accomplish.

 

[Huskybass]

The most dishonest argument against Ollie is that it matters that he lied. If you are going to play the pedantic contact angle - the fact he lied doesn’t matter at all. Yet it is constantly harped on by our most pedantic.

Somebody learned a new word and thinks he is cool by showing off.

 

[WrenchFan69]

'Cashapp'. I've never seen this one. Only used Venmo and Paypal.

I learned something new in this thread!!

Is it good?

Cashapp is solid, really like where the parent company Square is going in general

 

[Mokum]

Exactly. This isn't just a crappy move to pull, it's a means to undermine something that people fought very hard for.

Very true. This is like a slap in the face to people like MLK who were fighting against real racism. Pathetic. Got to think it is the lawyers who came up with this. But he agreed to it, so shame on him.

 

[JB75]

UConn shudda took care of this a while ago and came to a buyout agreement. Maybe Ollie dug his heels in and refused who knows but they should’ve met halfway or something. Now it’s gonna drag. U don’t get to breach a contract cuz someone doesn’t win. U buy them out. U don’t bring up flimsy charges and hope they stick. Weak on uconns part. I’m happy we have Hurley and im happy he’s gone but the University could’ve been a little more smooth about this.

 

[intlzncster]

Very true. This is like a slap in the face to people like MLK who were fighting against real racism. Pathetic. Got to think it is the lawyers who came up with this. But he agreed to it, so shame on him.

To a degree, but when you truly feel you are being treated unfairly--and I'm guessing Ollie feels that way--whether that's accurate or not, you don't 'take the high road' or 'fall on your sword'. In a legal battle, you fight fire with fire.

 

[intlzncster]

UConn shudda took care of this a while ago and came to a buyout agreement. Maybe Ollie dug his heels in and refused who knows but they should’ve met halfway or something. Now it’s gonna drag. U don’t get to breach a contract cuz someone doesn’t win. U buy them out. U don’t bring up flimsy charges and hope they stick. Weak on uconns part. I’m happy we have Hurley and im happy he’s gone but the University could’ve been a little more smooth about this.

UCONN hasn't breached a contract. They are following it to the letter, and it's highly likely they will win. It may be distasteful in your eyes, but in the eyes of the legal system, it's perfectly in order.

I have absolutely no information around this, but my gut tells me Ollie wasn't interested in settling, unless maybe it was a number like $7.5m or so. One of his greatest problems as HC was being stubborn, not willing to change his ways, nor listen to other people. I'm guessing that carries over in this instance.

 

[Madmannsucks]

To a degree, but when you truly feel you are being treated unfairly--and I'm guessing Ollie feels that way--whether that's accurate or not, you don't 'take the high road' or 'fall on your sword'. In a legal battle, you fight fire with fire.

"Real racism?....funny. He felt he was treated unfairly(based on his initial statements)...that is what the law is there for.

 

[intlzncster]

"Real racism?....funny. He felt he was treated unfairly(based on his initial statements)...that is what the law is there for.

This is unclear. I don't understand exactly what you are talking about in regards to my post.

Being treated unfairly <> racism. They are not mutually inclusive.

They can go hand-in-hand, but to any rational observer, that is not the case here. Again, this is legal and PR tactic.

 

[JB75]

It’s not distasteful in my eyes. I’m fine with giving him nothing. Just seems kinda weak how they tried to use those flimsy charges as the main reason. I hope he gets nothing. Cudda been played better. But can we just make this go away? And yer right. He prolly refused whatever uconn offered and wants his 10 milly. . He’s not getting that. He ll never be able to show his face in this state again. Sad all around it’s come to this.

 

[Madmannsucks]

This is unclear. I don't understand exactly what you are talking about in regards to my post.

Being treated unfairly <> racism. They are not mutually inclusive.

They can go hand-in-hand, but to any rational observer, that is not the case here. Again, this is legal and PR tactic.

Sorry. The post you quoted you replied to indicated this move was a slap in the face to real racism. Unfair? In my opinion, yes. The school should have been able to work something out with a UConn legend. He probably still had value in an administrative capacity and fund raising. For whatever reason, that never happened. Now we have this mess...which frankly looks bad on both sides. We can think what we want and dg in on our side of the fence. We are UConn fans and read this differently than non UConn fans who only know the name and the history.

 

[superjohn]

UCONN hasn't breached a contract. They are following it to the letter, and it's highly likely they will win. It may be distasteful in your eyes, but in the eyes of the legal system, it's perfectly in order.

I have absolutely no information around this, but my gut tells me Ollie wasn't interested in settling, unless maybe it was a number like $7.5m or so. One of his greatest problems as HC was being stubborn, not willing to change his ways, nor listen to other people. I'm guessing that carries over in this instance.

Amazing how people still have trouble understanding this, the only breach of contract was done by Ollie and from what I've heard Ollie wanted all the money.

 

[Deepster]

To come at this from another angle, when Ollie was in the NBA, he would refuse certain "frills" when coming back for the Alumni games. He knew those frills were paid for by the charity and turned them down, and most of the other players (and highly paid ones) took full advantage of them.

This is now where his legacy lies? It's like he's a completely different person entirely.

 

[August_West]

To come at this from another angle, when Ollie was in the NBA, he would refuse certain "frills" when coming back for the Alumni games. He knew those frills were paid for by the charity and turned them down, and most of the other players (and highly paid ones) took full advantage of them.

This is now where his legacy lies? It's like he's a completely different person entirely.

Its crazy. Even outside the scope of basketball the changes are mind blowing.

 

[superjohn]

Yes thank God for people like Glenn Miller. Ray Allen might have been on a speaker phone - a true ethical dilemma.

So if Glenn Miller is such an ethical standard why didn’t he take any of Calhoun’s violations to the NCAA?

Now please stop being an IDIOT.

You intentionally minimize Ollie's violations. Why bring up Ollie paying for players trips to work out with his buddy and lying about it to the school and NCAA when you can make a Ray Allen speaker phone joke...You're pretending UConn is the only major athletic department who fired their coach for cause when a bunch of other major athletic departments have done it.

Now you're intimating the rules Ollie violated were by accident. You aren't being honest here Whaler, I know you like to dig in but come on.


It's all really simple, Ollie won it all right away and then got fat and happy. He thought he had all the answers, he no longer had any time for the guy who gave him the job and then he stopped doing his job, cutting corners all along the way. He signed a contract that was drafted with terms to try and ensure our coach wouldn't be violating rules because the program was under a microscope. He violated the terms of the contract and then lied about it to the University and to the NCAA.

Clearly Jim Calhoun and the University are racist because Ollie stopped doing his job and because he was held to the contract he signed.

 

[mauconnfan]

Problem we have is no one wins here. The university looks ridiculous and now KO does bringing JC into the fold.

Both sides were greedy and stupid, here we are. UConn was cheap and KO was greedy. KO deserved to be fired and didn't deserve to get close to 10M. UConn fired him and didn't deserve to walk without paying him something somewhat respectable.

Hilarious to think they believe his "sanctions" laughable as they are, come close to the ones not handed out as we see guys coaching out there who called and offered players and their families 100K in cash. I mean please just fire him because he lost his way as a coach and he lost a historically successful programs direction for the future. Don't try to make it something else to save face and money.

 

[UConnRock]

I don't know how one can quantify the scope of NCAA charges. To call the charges "flimsy" is certainly a reach. In the full scope of conference realignment and TV contracts any NCAA violations against UConn could have costly long-term consequences. From the program perspective and as viewed by the AD and President, Ollie's violations are/were detrimental to the goals of the athletic department and college as a whole.

 

[CL82]

Wow, how did I miss that?

That's an unbelievable thing for a lawyer to say and shows they have absolutely nothing. What on earth is Ollie doing? He sure seems to be into self-sabotage

Not so unbelievable for him to say it, it's unbelievable for him to say it after smearing a beloved HOF coach and accusing the school of racism.

"Calhoun's a crook and you are the Klan... wait home come you don't like us?"

Parenteau has a good reputation but his handling of this matter has been one blunder after another. I bet he'd love a Mulligan on taking this case.

 

[CL82]

Both sides were greedy and stupid, here we are. UConn was cheap and KO was greedy. KO deserved to be fired and didn't deserve to get close to 10M. UConn fired him and didn't deserve to walk without paying him something somewhat respectable.

Depends how you define deserve. I think pretty much everyone agrees at that this point that under the contract, Ollie isn't entitled to a dime. So how you define deserve? Because he was a former player or because he coached the team to Natty the cash strapped state should pay him millions to which that he has no lawful claim?

 

[CL82]

UConn shudda took care of this a while ago and came to a buyout agreement. Maybe Ollie dug his heels in and refused who knows but they should’ve met halfway or something. Now it’s gonna drag. U don’t get to breach a contract cuz someone doesn’t win. U buy them out. U don’t bring up flimsy charges and hope they stick. Weak on uconns part. I’m happy we have Hurley and im happy he’s gone but the University could’ve been a little more smooth about this.

As noted above, Kevin Ollie is about to get a show cause penalty from the NCAA for providing illegal (in the NCAA sense) food, board and travel expenses for player to attend and illegal training session. Those are hardly "flimsy charges." Those actions "breached" contract and triggered an automatic termination of it. That is why KO is isn't entitled to dollar more under the multi-million dollar contract that his lawyers reviewed and he signed.

Have you been following this matter at all?

 

[8893]

FWIW I think @JohnFSilver ’s take on this in today’s UConn Daily was spot on. I continue to be surprised that the majority of casual observers with whom this issue arises in conversation do not like what they perceive in terms of the University’s treatment of Ollie in the firing.

As for this latest move, I get what his lawyers are trying to do—one of which is surely to avoid a malpractice claim that could result from missing a filing deadline to preserve potential claims. From the outside it looks like they got played along by the University, which was never going to agree to their various offers to try to preserve these claims. I think I would have advised the client either to file the CHRO claims or drop them. I don’t think they are going to get the relief they are seeking from the district court here. They are essentially asking to be forgiven for missing the filing deadline, and I don’t know if the district court can do that prospectively in the absence on an actual claim.