Ollie Suing Glen Miller for Slander

[navery12]

Bad bet as it relates to how the UCONN Administration thought this would play out with Ollie and his subsequent actions. UCONN went Nuclear, Ollie went Nuclear. This was foreseeable. That is all that I'm referring to here. Regarding the decision to move on they did what they had to do. The dispute is all about the disagreement with the process and how it was done but once one side goes Nuclear you can expect the other side to do the same. We all know that K.O. is not laying down or bending over for anyone.

UConn's bet got them Dan Hurley as coach so I'd say they're pretty comfortable with the choice

 

[UConnNick]

Well, that's decision UCONN made when they terminated Kevin Ollie. I'm sure they contemplated this in their best case / worst case analysis and they clearly made a bad bet so here we are. Completely foreseeable.

I don't see how firing Ollie is a bad bet for UCONN. Saving almost 11 million dollars is not a bad bet when you've got all the law on your side. The only bad thing about it is some negative PR for the university, but most institutions would favor that risk/reward scenario any time if it means saving almost 11 million bucks.

 

[superjohn]

All MadMannsucks does is provide facts yet the one "fact" I ask him to provide proof of and he provides nothing.

 

[DMIL]

Meh. Foreseeable as in possible? I guess, but I doubt anyone would have thought KO would have as completely immolated his reputation and relationships as he has. It is a stunning meltdown and unpleasant to watch. Not so much for UConn but Kevin. He's burn the bulk of his personal capital with really nothing to show for it.

That said, once he cheated and repeatedly lied about it to UConn and the NCAA the only possible outcome was his dismissal for cause. He could have managed the departure better which would have had the result of his being able to create a better narrative (complex and confusing rules, just trying to develop his players, left once he felt it was in the University's best interest, etc.) and probably ended up with more money in his pocket. Instead, he chose to make the biggest mess he could in the hopes that UConn would pay him to go away. That resulted in no payoff and a narrative of KO as petulant child. He's toxic at this point.

There is no disagreement about K.O. having other or better strategies that could have been explored that would have mitigated the hit to his brand however once you get to a point where you feel you have nothing more to lose he is the type of guy that will go against the obvious path out of faith. We forget K.O. remains a man in faith so when you have someone that operates like that this worse case scenario was foreseeable. I still put the burden on the Administration to have found a way to avoid this worst case scenario we find ourselves in now. It was foreseeable so maybe the UCONN Administrations hands were tied or they exhausted their tool kit. Either way I believe the burden was on the Administration to make sure this scenario was avoided at all costs.

I look at this now as simply the cost of the decision. The character assassination of K.O. doesn't get us anywhere and distracts from the UCONN Administration's role in all of this; there responsibility in this and I'm simply not letting them off the hook. The burden is still on them to get this behind the University so we can move on.

 

[UConnNick]

My point has been consistent. Everyone on the board is moving forward as if everything is final. It clearly is not. Plain and simple-When he got fired I immediately suspected there would be a claim of discrimination-many scoffed at the thought. Now I am suggesting if KO prevails against GM, that would lead to further lawsuits. Doesn't mean I think he wins or not-I have posted facts(nothing is settled)and opinions(he will sure the NCAA if he prevails against GM. All the posters who say he has no chance....Please tell me what a jury is going to do. Ask Rodney King, OJ, the USFL, etc, etc, etc.

There's no jury in an arbitration proceeding.

 

[Engineer90]

We all know that K.O. is not laying down or bending over for anyone.

Clearly you didn't watch any games from his last two seasons as coach!

 

[DMIL]

UConn's bet got them Dan Hurley as coach so I'd say they're pretty comfortable with the choice

Sure, Hurley was a great bet given the tools at UCONN's disposal however we are all paying the cost so that is what I'm referring to. UCONN had other options early on even the year or two before firing K.O. I've always and continue to put the burden on UCONN to clean up this up this mess. It's convenient for people to character assassinate K.O. when UCONN and K.O. implemented nuclear options however the burden remains on our beloved university to clean this up.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Everyone on the board is moving forward as if everything is final.

Presume less, e.g., "Everyone on the board is moving forward as if everything is final". This may be your opinion, but referencing "everyone" and "everything is final" are each clearly absolute statements. Instead, most reasonable adults with much life and professional experience are less likely to foolishly believe "everything is final".

 

[DMIL]

This was a hurt wounded man fighting for his personal and professional life. He was navigating the backstabbing of the snake Glenn Miller among others, fighting for his marriage and trying to manage his damaged relationship with Calhoun. K.O. has lost a lot on all fronts. He's fighting now; that is the K.O. we know. I can care less if he wins or not but he is fighting and that what he is supposed to do.

Clearly you didn't watch any games from his last two seasons as coach!

 

[DMIL]

I don't see how firing Ollie is a bad bet for UCONN. Saving almost 11 million dollars is not a bad bet when you've got all the law on your side. The only bad thing about it is some negative PR for the university, but most institutions would favor that risk/reward scenario any time if it means saving almost 11 million bucks.

It was a bad bet if the assumption was made that K.O. would not go nuclear right back at UCONN and if they expected him to lay down and go off into the sunset with his tail between his legs. That is what I'm referring to. Sure if UCONN ultimately prevails without having to pay anything from the broken contract or additional sanctions and impact to our recruiting classes then sure I'll agree with you it was a bet worth taking.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Nothing was out of bounds for our beloved school UCONN. What's the big deal. All is fair in war. This was all foreseeable. UCONN made it's move and Kevin Ollie is making his moves. It is what it is.

I was just making a joke about who KO might sue next given he's now battling on 2-3 fronts (vs UConn, vs NCAA, vs Miller). No other commentary intended.
But I'm on board with the method that UConn has chosen. I wish KO had accepted some money and went away, but per the vague contract he signed, he's not owed a dime. You appear to be on the other side of the fence from me. What's your take?

 

[Engineer90]

It was a bad bet if the assumption was made that K.O. would not go nuclear right back at UCONN and if they expected him to lay down and go off into the sunset with his tail between his legs. That is what I'm referring to. Sure if UCONN ultimately prevails without having to pay anything from the broken contract or additional sanctions and impact to our recruiting classes then sure I'll agree with you it was a bet worth taking.

He was an idiot for not taking the 2.5M offer. That is what other train wreck coaches do. They take the settlement and resign. Then he pulled the race card and threw Calhoun under the bus. No matter how much you say it or he says it, he is not a victim. He is a fool with more ego than wisdom. He is only a victim of his own poor judgement. UConn has made the right moves the whole time. Ollie has responded with one boneheaded decision after another, effectively burning his own life to the ground.

 

[Sonova]

This was a hurt wounded man fighting for his personal and professional life. He was navigating the backstabbing of the snake Glenn Miller among others, fighting for his marriage and trying to manage his damaged relationship with Calhoun. K.O. has lost a lot on all fronts. He's fighting now; that is the K.O. we know. I can care less if he wins or not but he is fighting and that what he is supposed to do.

“Backstabbing of the snake?” You know Kevin Ollie fired Glen Miller unceremoniously just before his pension kicked in right?

 

[polycom]

“Backstabbing of the snake?” You know Kevin Ollie fired Glen Miller unceremoniously just before his pension kicked in right?

To hire someone who is a horrible coach and an average at best recruiter...

 

[DMIL]

He was an idiot for not taking the 2.5M offer. That is what other train wreck coaches do. They take the settlement and resign. Then he pulled the race card and threw Calhoun under the bus. No matter how much you say it or he says it, he is not a victim. He is a fool with more ego than wisdom. He is only a victim of his own poor judgement. UConn has made the right moves the whole time. Ollie has responded with one boneheaded decision after another, effectively burning his own life to the ground.

Maybe so but we will see how this plays out. I've always and will continue to put the burden on the administration to get this cleaned up and resolved. This was foreseeable and could have been avoided even going back a year or so prior to his firing. There are people that get paid at UCONN to make sure the University doesn't end up in the position they are in now. Sure they've made some steps in the right direction to right the ship but they need to get this resolved. The burden is on them to do so.

 

[Jbirdp5]

Maybe so but we will see how this plays out. I've always and will continue to put the burden on the administration to get this cleaned up and resolved. This was foreseeable and could have been avoided even going back a year or so prior to his firing. There are people that get paid at UCONN to make sure the University doesn't end up in the position they are in now. Sure they've made some steps in the right direction to right the ship but they need to get this resolved. The burden is on them to do so.

What should they have done a year before he got fired?

 

[DMIL]

To hire someone who is a horrible coach and an average at best recruiter...

I'm sure he had his reasons. If you were running an organization and you found out that your right hand man, VP etc. was undermining what you were trying to do behind your back then what would you do? How would you handle that situation? How does Glenn the snake Miller not have any responsibility in his firing based on his actions of undermining the head coach of the UCONN basketball program? Does K.O. sit there and say..."Oh...that is O.K. I'll roll with this until he get's his pension because that is the right thing to do". I'm sure whatever he found out Glenn was doing was irreconcilable to their relationship and I'm sure Glenn knows this. It's a tough deal but how would you handle that kind of scenario?

 

[navery12]

I'm sure he had his reasons. If you were running an organization and you found out that your right hand man, VP etc. was undermining what you were trying to do behind your back then what would you do? How would you handle that situation? How does Glenn the snake Miller not have any responsibility in his firing based on his actions of undermining the head coach of the UCONN basketball program? Does K.O. sit there and say..."Oh...that is O.K. I'll roll with this until he get's his pension because that is the right thing to do". I'm sure whatever he found out Glenn was doing was irreconcilable to their relationship and I'm sure Glenn knows this. It's a tough deal but how would you handle that kind of scenario?

How closely related to KO are you? Direct relative or through marriage?

 

[DMIL]

What should they have done a year before he got fired?

They did not have to renew or extend his contract in the first place. They could have fired him a year or so prior with the player defections for performance. There is no dispute about the need for the University to move on. It's more about the process and how it was done. The University has to take some responsibility in all of this and why we are here. The Hurley move was a good one however one with significant costs however maybe not as costly as passing on firing K.O. This has yet to be determined. The bottom line for me is that I place the burden on the UCONN Administration to get this cleaned up and resolved. I don't care how they get it done. Once you go Nuclear everything is on the table.

 

[polycom]

I'm sure he had his reasons. If you were running an organization and you found out that your right hand man, VP etc. was undermining what you were trying to do behind your back then what would you do? How would you handle that situation? How does Glenn the snake Miller not have any responsibility in his firing based on his actions of undermining the head coach of the UCONN basketball program? Does K.O. sit there and say..."Oh...that is O.K. I'll roll with this until he get's his pension because that is the right thing to do". I'm sure whatever he found out Glenn was doing was irreconcilable to their relationship and I'm sure Glenn knows this. It's a tough deal but how would you handle that kind of scenario?

Lol what did KO tell you Glenn was doing?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

You know Kevin Ollie fired Glen Miller unceremoniously just before his pension kicked in right?

IIRC from some filing, allegation, related news report, etc., wasn't Miller 3 years away from potentially collecting a pension?

 

[CL82]

There is no disagreement about K.O. having other or better strategies that could have been explored that would have mitigated the hit to his brand however once you get to a point where you feel you have nothing more to lose he is the type of guy that will go against the obvious path out of faith. We forget K.O. remains a man in faith so when you have someone that operates like that this worse case scenario was foreseeable. I still put the burden on the Administration to have found a way to avoid this worst case scenario we find ourselves in now. It was foreseeable so maybe the UCONN Administrations hands were tied or they exhausted their tool kit. Either way I believe the burden was on the Administration to make sure this scenario was avoided at all costs.

I look at this now as simply the cost of the decision. The character assassination of K.O. doesn't get us anywhere and distracts from the UCONN Administration's role in all of this; there responsibility in this and I'm simply not letting them off the hook. The burden is still on them to get this behind the University so we can move on.

There has been no character assassination of KO by the university. The notion that Kevin's current attempts to smear the university (which, ironically enough, have only served to destroy Kevin professional reputation and burn through the considerable goodwill he once had among much of the fanbase) somehow mean that it is incumbent upon the university to pay him millions of dollars to which he has no lawful claim so that he will go away (and that is, apparently, the only way to "avoid this scenario") is ludicrous.

Regarding your notion that Kevin's faith's has led him to publicly smear the university that was his home for so many years and the man he once called "a second father" and whose support "meant the world to (Kevin)", I disagree. Kevin seems locked into a path of self- destruction. His rumored lack of fidelity to his wife alleged cost him his marriage. His alienation of Jim Calhoun lost him an incredible wellspring of knowledge and support. His decision to cheat, led him to lie about his cheating, both of which cost him his job. His refusal to accept responsibility for that caused him to further alienate his contacts and fans. All of that seems less like an act of faith and more like a crisis of faith. Whatever it is, I am hopeful that he works his way through it and gets back on less self-destructive path.

 

[DMIL]

Lol what did KO tell you Glenn was doing?

I don't personally know K.O. but certainly if you reflect on those seasons you could see that something was off with the team's chemistry and no one could put there finger on what it was. Dis-function like this bleeds into recruiting, the team, the staff; it bleeds into everything. I guarantee you that this wasn't done for an invalid reason. I'm sure this undermining was also indirectly tied to the fractured relationship he had with Jim Calhoun prior to the GM firing. It's all related and it would have been great of Jim Calhoun was able to fix this. However typically what happens is when things don't play out the way you hoped you start to look deeper at potential causes and I'm sure K.O. found out that he had a cancer on his staff as it related to where he was trying to take the program. It's clear that GM did not buy into what K.O. was doing and had an issue with it. I'm sure this even went back to when K.O. was selected over him by Jim Calhoun. The bottom line is when the trust is gone you have to go in a different direction. It's clear that is what happened here.

 

[UConnNick]

This was a hurt wounded man fighting for his personal and professional life. He was navigating the backstabbing of the snake Glenn Miller among others, fighting for his marriage and trying to manage his damaged relationship with Calhoun. K.O. has lost a lot on all fronts. He's fighting now; that is the K.O. we know. I can care less if he wins or not but he is fighting and that what he is supposed to do.

His marriage ended before he got his contract extension from UCONN. Throwing "fighting for his marriage" into any argument about his firing from UCONN is nonsense. As for his "damaged relationship with Calhoun", most accounts have it that Ollie broke off that relationship of his own volition. The twisted, tortured reasoning that goes into some of these arguments that Ollie is some kind of victim and tragic hero in the Shakespearian sense is laughable. This is a man who was getting paid (I deliberately refrain from the use of the word "earning") 3 million dollars per year. It's difficult to feel sorry for somebody who pissed that all away by getting fired, largely due to his own personal behavior.

 

[navery12]

I don't personally know K.O. but certainly if you reflect on those seasons you could see that something was off with the team's chemistry and no one could put there finger on what it was. Dis-function like this bleeds into recruiting, the team, the staff; it bleeds into everything. I guarantee you that this wasn't done for an invalid reason. I'm sure this undermining was also indirectly tied to the fractured relationship he had with Jim Calhoun prior to the GM firing. It's all related and it would have been great of Jim Calhoun was able to fix this. However typically what happens is when things don't play out the way you hoped you start to look deeper at potential causes and I'm sure K.O. found out that he had a cancer on his staff as it related to where he was trying to take the program. It's clear that GM did not buy into what K.O. was doing and had an issue with it. I'm sure this even went back to when K.O. was selected over him by Jim Calhoun. The bottom line is when the trust is gone you have to go in a different direction. It's clear that is what happened here.

Clear to most of us, yes.