Former University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie won an arbitration case against the school and should pay more than $11 million
According to Ollie's lawyers, Jacques J. Parenteau and William Madsen, Ollie's debt is exactly $11,157,032.95. The arbitrator in the case, Mark L. Irvings, noted that UConn's termination of Ollie on "just cause" violated the collective bargaining agreement.
Ollie was fired by the University of Connecticut in March 2018, which cited the move as justified. Ollie's project got bogged down and was later discovered as a violation of the NCAA.
The University of Connecticut Branch of the Association of American College Professors, which represents the school coach, filed a complaint on behalf of Ollie. Orly, who led the University of Connecticut to the 2014 national championship, has about $11 million left on his contract. According to Parenteau, the parties tried to mediate before the case was submitted to an arbitrator, "but the University of Connecticut took a completely unrealistic position throughout." ”
In a statement issued by his lawyer, Ollie said he was "pleased" with the decision and thanked God, his family, his lawyer and Michael Bailey, executive director of the Connecticut AAUP. "Finally," Ollie wrote in the statement, "I wish to assure the University of Connecticut community, my alma mater, and the institutions that have meant so much to me over the years that this university will always hold a special place in my heart and will always be part of my family." Ollie is currently the coach and director of player development for Overtime Elite, an organization with 24 high school-age recruits who are salaried and therefore not eligible for college basketball.
The University of Connecticut issued a statement through spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz, saying it "strongly opposed" the decision and insisted that Ollie's termination was correct and appropriate: "In fact, in his decision, the arbitrator agreed that the NCAA's finding that Ollie had seriously violated the NCAA provides a sufficient basis for the University of Connecticut to terminate Ollie on legitimate grounds," the statement read. However, the arbitrator concluded that the University of Connecticut should have waited 16 months for the NCAA proceedings to be concluded before terminating Ollie. As a member institution of the NCAA, the University of Connecticut has no luxury of waiting more than a year before terminating Ollie because the university knows of the misconduct he is engaging in. The University of Connecticut cannot continue hiring a head coach because he knows he has violated NCAA rules to put student-athletes and the entire UConn athletics program at risk. ”
The statement added: "The arbitrator's decision is absurd and seriously hampers the university's ability to manage its sporting programmes. It also sends a signal to other coaches in Connecticut that they may ignore NCAA rules with impunity and continue to be hired and paid. After the University of Connecticut's 75-56 win over Butler on Thursday night, Dan Hurley, who took over as head coach at the University of Connecticut in March 2018 after Ollie's sacking, seems eager to leave the entire chapter behind.
"At this point, you just want everyone to move on," Hurley said. "We have a great team, our project is in a great place, it's a great team. We are recruiting at a high level. This project, this team and this university need the support of all the former players. We need everyone to come back here because hopefully it gets exciting again. While the arbitrator's decision is final, the University of Connecticut can oppose the decision if any type of corruption is found, or if the ruling violates some sort of public policy (for example, a school bus driver is reinstated after being convicted of multiple drunk drivers).
In his opinion, Owens said ollie, as an employee of the university and a member of the UConn-AAUP chapter, Ollie "has the right to receive protections from the CBA between the union and the university and the University of Connecticut's policies and procedures regarding employee discipline and dismissal." Owen writes that the University of Connecticut "operates under many incorrect assumptions" when it decided to terminate Ollie supposedly for legitimate reasons. He noted that under collective bargaining agreements, some important due process protections were included.
Owens wrote: "The employer must prove that it has what is known as the reason for termination when making the termination decision. "An employer cannot first fire an employee and then conduct an investigation to determine the factual basis that supports his intended conclusion." Owens succeeded Marcia Greenbaum, who died almost exactly a year ago, as arbitrator in the case.
Parenteau also noted that Ollie's federal discrimination case against the University of Connecticut is still ongoing. Ollie argued that when he was fired, he was treated differently from a white coach. "We are evaluating what additional action can be taken in federal court," Parenteau said, "based on the different treatments found in arbitration." ”
In a statement, Ollie's lawyer noted that the decision "fully justifies Kevin Ollie and his tenure as head coach at the University of Connecticut." More importantly, it restored his good reputation as an individual with the highest moral standards. Contrary to the erroneous and unfounded decision issued by the NCAA on July 2, 2019 — based on a six-hour hearing alone — the arbitration clearly determined — after 33 days of hearings and testimony and cross-examination of actual sworn witnesses — Kevin Ollie did not violate the NCAA rules, which were used to justify the harsh sanctions imposed on him. The arbitrators rightly found that kevin Ollie was terminated as head coach of the NCAA basketball team without justification. ”