Gillispie sues Kentucky to the tune of $6+ million
As expected, former Kentucky head men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie has sued the University for more than $6 million, arguing that while he never signed a contract, there was a “memorandum of understanding” between the coach and the UK Athletic Association, which fired him two years into a seven year contract.
UK released a statement claiming surprise, as they were in the midst of working out a settlement with Gillispie.
Now, I’m not a lawyer, agent or coach, but could someone please explain to me why there was no signed contract in the first place? I mean, “memorandum of understanding” or not, anyone in the coaching business should know the job is shaky enough, especially at a place with through-the-roof standards like UK.
So where was Gillispie’s agent in all of this? Isn’t his job to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed so that this stuff isn’t even an issue?
And how could UK’s general counsel, way back in 2007, say that all the memorandum had all the “basic terms needed for an employment agreement, and can itself serve as the employment contract for the coach.”?
I don’t know who was fooling who in this scenario, and Gillispie sure deserves some sort of buyout… I mean, c’mon, firing a coach after two years? This was more about personality and opportunity than it was wins and losses.
But, sheesh… get a contract!
June 1st, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I don’t understand him not signing the contract. What was his purpose?
June 5th, 2009 at 12:45 am
[...] has answered Gillispie’s lawsuit with one of their own — countersuing Billy G. and claiming they don’t owe him a penny [...]