Ollie threatening to sue UConn

[DMIL]

You know too little to write the way you have.

Maybe, but clearly the way this is playing out is not ideal and it would be hard for me to believe planned or anticipated by the Administration or Ollie. I have no shame saying that "I don't know what I don't know.

 

[jimva]

The Administration made this bed and now we all have to pay the consequences unfortunately.

KO made this bed by his actions. And is following it up with a public "destroy everyone" plan that he cannot win in the end.

 

[jimva]

$10M is $10M. This is the fight he is supposed to be having at this juncture. It was the Administration's job to clean this up and the failed miserably.

Nonsense

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Maybe, but clearly the way this is playing out is not ideal and it would be hard for me to believe planned or anticipated by the Administration or Ollie. I have no shame saying that "I don't know what I don't know.

You're making the case for the parties to settle. There's no cut-and-dried good-guy or bad-guy that warrants 90% of what we're seeing here. The parties and their lawyers ought to know this. Somebody is being very stubborn and unhelpful. I don't know who. I'm just not much of a fan of those here who are adding to the impasse.

 

[Yardigan]

Thread is starting to get a little stale.
Would like to hear others' thoughts on 'how this could turn into even more of a cluster than it already is'.

No idea too wacky, nothing off the table...SFW preferable, but not necessary...
Creative speculation is a strong suit here, time to go to the well...

 

[DMIL]

KO made this bed by his actions. And is following it up with a public "destroy everyone" plan that he cannot win in the end.

Sure he made his bed and I can't be mad at anyone for fighting for the $10M on the table. That is the fight you are actually supposed to have. Fight for $10M, get $4M, $5M, $6M. I'll take that. Saying, oh well UCONN, you got me and walking away with nothing without a fight. No one would do that....no one especially someone like Ollie.

 

[DMIL]

You're making the case for the parties to settle. There's no cut-and-dried good-guy or bad-guy that warrants 90% of what we're seeing here. The parties and their lawyers ought to know this. Somebody is being very stubborn and unhelpful. I don't know who. I'm just not much of a fan of those here who are adding to the impasse.

Absolutely and agree.

 

[uconnfan68]

Goodwill doesnt put dinner on the table.
Why, in the envoronment he is facing right now, would Kevin Ollie give a whit about fan goodwill?

And Kevin Ollie will work in basketball again, no doubt. Take that to the bank.

Will he ever have as high profile a job as being the head Coach at UConn? Probably not.

He will have to work his way up this time instead of starting at the top. Or he can be an NBA assistant.

With loyalty a new big buzzword, who would consider hiring KO?

 

[JMick]

Not at all man...too much was mismanaged however the process of going about this matters and we are paying the consequences for this. Administration did not do their job in cleaning up their mess....period.

you made threads about how we needed to keep him and 99% of your posts are defending him. You didn't make an account until the season was lost and the tide started to turn against him.

Sorry if I can't take anything you say seriously.

 

[Yardigan]

With loyalty a new big buzzword, who would consider hiring KO?

Huh? WHERE is loyalty a buzzword nowadays? Certainly not in the regular workworld....

 

[DMIL]

you made threads about how we needed to keep him and 99% of your posts are defending him. You didn't make an account until the season was lost and the tide started to turn against him.

Sorry if I can't take anything you say seriously.

Actually JMICK, I supported the case for him having one more year initially given the well documented unforeseen circumstances however as the season continued I also came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to make another year and was at peace with it.

My biggest rub at this point is the way this was and continues to be handled by the Administration. There is a right and wrong way to handle these matters and clean up a mess created by the Administration. In this case the Administration clearly made a bet and made a calculation that worse case scenario in using "Cause" for Ollie's employment termination was the best option with a tough hand than handling this in a much more ethical manner especially with someone that was a major contributor to the University as a player, advocate, assistant coach and head coach.

I'm aware enough to understand that they thought this scenario through and possibly felt it was the only path forward as unfortunate as it is with Hurley on the table as a very viable option to be our next coach . I've been pretty consistent about my motivations and what I actually have an issue with. As much as I did support Ollie initially he is not bigger than our program. If the University was going to go this direction I was hoping for a process with integrity with Ollie and best case scenario a quiet settlement. No one wins now and no one's hands are clean so this is where we are.

 

[JMick]

Actually JMICK, I supported the case for him having one more year initially given the well documented unforeseen circumstances however as the season continued I also came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to make another year and was at peace with it.

My biggest rub at this point is the way this was and continues to be handled by the Administration. There is a right and wrong way to handle these matters and clean up a mess created by the Administration. In this case the Administration clearly made a bet and made a calculation that worse case scenario in using "Cause" for Ollie's employment termination was the best option with a tough hand than handling this in a much more ethical manner especially with someone that was a major contributor to the University as a player, advocate, assistant coach and head coach.

I'm aware enough to understand that they thought this scenario through and possibly felt it was the only path forward as unfortunate as it is with Hurley on the table as a very viable option to be our next coach . I've been pretty consistent about my motivations and what I actually have an issue with. As much as I did support Ollie initially he is not bigger than our program. If the University was going to go this direction I was hoping for a process with integrity with Ollie and best case scenario a quiet settlement. No one wins now and no one's hands are clean so this is where we are.

I'm not really sure what you're getting at with your second paragraph. You keep saying you blame the administration, but for what? Are you sure that no sort of settlement offer was made? How do you know it's the administration that's being a bad negotiating partner and not Ollie?

 

[BUConn10]

I think the real crime here is that a program of UConn's caliber has been reduced so much financially to be in this predicament in the first place due to conference realignment. If we have to cut corners like this to save for head coaching transitions, imagine how light it must be behind the scenes of stuff actually related to basketball. CR has us fighting for scraps like rabid dogs.

 

[intlzncster]

I think the real crime here is that a program of UConn's caliber has been reduced so much financially to be in this predicament in the first place due to conference realignment. If we have to cut corners like this to save for head coaching transitions, imagine how light it must be behind the scenes of stuff actually related to basketball. CR has us fighting for scraps like rabid dogs.

Meanwhile, at Alabama....show me that P5 money baby




Furthmore, Wall Street Journal tried valuing CFB programs and had Alabama at about $930,001,000. Only number 7 on the list tho. Number 1? OSU at about $1.5b. lmao

 

[methodology]

The best thing for UConn is for them and Ollie to come to some sort of agreement and be done with this. No one wants to see Ollie, the school, or the program be dragged through the mud.

Let's just get it over with and get the Hurley era started without a black cloud looming

 

[krinklecut]

show me that P5 money baby

football money*

 

[UConnNick]

I will readily admit that I give greater attention than most posters to the clarity of communication on this board, but here I have some serious questions about whether the above-quoted portion of the NH Register article is the product of proofreading lapses by The Register in quoting from Paranteau's letter, or Paranteau's office's sloppiness in what was provided to The Register.

In the first line, it remains ambiguous as to whether Paranteau's office ever made a FOI request as was claimed by UConn spokesperson Reitz. It is not directly disputed, but that is the most charitable interpretation of what is being claimed, unless Paranteau intended to write, ". . . release the confidential transcripts to news outlets that had also made such requests" rather than, " . . . release the confidential transcripts to Coach Ollie." I truly can't tell what Paranteau wanted to convey. In any case, his statement was conclusive without support in saying that what was released was "false and defamatory." Without further determination as to whether it was indeed false and defamatory, "objectionable, and potentially defamatory" would more accurately capture the point being made.

Next, there are two outright errors. Again, are they Paranteau's or The Register's?

"The FOI statue states if Coach Ollie objects then UConn cannot release the information."
"Statue?"
And ". . . states that if . . ." would be correct if a direct quotation is not being offered.

"There is no excuse for UConn’s failure to notify Coach Ollie of their intention to violated his privacy interest."
"Violated?"
And again, it is disputable as to whether a privacy interest was violated, so that stating it as such would again be a conclusion without support.

Note to Paranteau: When sabres are being rattled, don't be so rattled that it's done sloppily.

Again, I allow that it could have been the sad state of print media proofreading that accounts for the errors, though the UConn statement show no similar defects.

C'mon folks, get to the table and settle this thing.

That's the way lawyers, and particularly litigation attorneys, draft pleadings and other documents. You never weaken your position by equivocating. You state things as though there's only one conclusion to be drawn...the one most favorable to your client's legal position. Both sides do it. It's up to the other side to refute your assertions.

 

[Javjudah]

I have said on many occasions that this will get very messy and could be very detrimental to the program moving forward. Ollie is from the streets and he will fight, difference is he going about it the legal way. Some on here only see the outcome that they want to see but it’s not the case. We all know they fired him because he did a less than mediocre job the past two seasons. Fire him because of that and cut your losses and move on. At this juncture it will be in the best interest of the University to fire Herbst and Benedict for the mess they’ve created and pay Ollie and move on.

 

[Javjudah]

Gee who woulda thunk how messy this could be?

I don't get it. Why won't Ollie just go away quietly? He should be paying US money for that crap he put on the floor the last two years!

In Ollie’s eyes, if someone try to screw you over will you go away?

 

[DMIL]

I'm not really sure what you're getting at with your second paragraph. You keep saying you blame the administration, but for what? Are you sure that no sort of settlement offer was made? How do you know it's the administration that's being a bad negotiating partner and not Ollie?

There is a narrative that the Administration found a loop hole in spirit using "Cause" as a reason for termination when most reasonable minded, objective people see this reason as thin on it's face and disingenuous which I agree with. Regarding knowledge about an offer and the direct negotiations I have no direct knowledge but certainly feel that Ollie has the right to fight for the remainder of his contract whether we believe is owed that money or not.

Ultimately I blame the Administration for hiring Ollie in the first place which I felt was 3 to 4 years early. They went with JC's recommendation and Ollie ultimately put in the work with a lot of help to earn the spot. Ultimately this was their decision, great, bad or ugly including the length and value of the contract extension. We got an NC out of this so it is a wash as far as I'm concerned.

I blame the Administration for the reason that there is an AAC in the first place and the fact that we were not invited to a Power 5 conference. I blame them for not cleaning up the mess they actually created and I say that understanding that Ollie mad his own bed here with a number of strategic blunders as well as putting his eggs in the wrong baskets ultimately getting caught with his pants down exposing what we witnessed the last 2 years. From a business standpoint the University is doing what it feels it has to do.

 

[Javjudah]

What a bridge-burning mother******.

The first move was made by UCONN so I guess you can say they started the fire on the bridge.

 

[Fishy]

The long term impact on the basketball program will be nothing. The short term impact on the basketball program will be nothing. The medium term impact, shockingly, will also be nothing.

 

[BlueDogs]

The best chances for settlement with private parties are

1. Before papers are served and sane folks realize they will be spending big dollars and a lot of time in litigation;
2. Before depositions of the main parties commence, because most people fear depositions and the invasive questioning
3. Right before trial when the pressure really mounts;

KO missed the boat on number 1, which was his best opportunity for a decent outcome without going all the way through the process. If you're UConn, which is a public entity, its better to litigate for 5 years than pay huge money out.... delay, delay, delay, appeal, appeal. It’s cheaper and it pushes the money problem down the road. Time is money saved, and they have nothing to lose. KO lost all leverage the minute this went public. If UConn put a reasonable settlement on the table before this came into public view and KO refused, he’s an even bigger clown than I already believe him to be.

 

[Husky68]

I would expect a request for depositions from Susie, the AD (others in AD office, consultants, etc.) and anyone else in the decision making or discussion process that will get statements as to any discussions related to the decision to fire Ollie going back a couple of years at least with the sole purpose of examining the extent to which UConn basketball performance (losing, transfers, attendance, etc.) played in the discussions. Make UConn prove that the reason he was fired are solely due to those mentioned in the termination letter. I would expect some difficulty in the trail of discussions, some outside guys who would also be brought in (JC perhaps) and even some "memorialization and notes to meetings" that might say some stuff UConn would rather not have anyone see.

For example, if discussions were held between the AD and Herbst related to basketball team performance before the violations were brought to their attention and included discussions about the difficulty firing Ollie with the buyout I'd like to have that info to argue claiming cause to cover intent to fire for poor team performance and avoid the buyout.

If UConn violated Ollie's right to suppress the Miller statement it could be claimed that UConn's error mortally wounded Ollie's ability to get another NCAA coaching job having this unsubstantiated claim in the public domain. That could be worth millions. Pearl got another job, Sampson got another job (and neither of these guys won a NCAA championship) so even with poor performance Ollie had a shot at another job with the type of violations claimed in the firing - paying a recruit it's over; being charged with paying a recruit which you can't "unprove" would have just about the same effect as if he actually did it.

UConn could have paid Ollie (not saying they should have) and ended it. Now you deal with it. You hired him, gave him an extension and put the "cause" statements in there. You know the process for termination of an employee, don't complain when he fights back just as hard as you when your initial position was he was fired for cause and was due nothing (regardless of what your negotiating stance actually was, the firing was for cause and he was due nothing).

 

[intlzncster]

football money*

That is the source of P5 money