Neuheisel Trial Begins in Washington



I discussed on this blog the legality of NCAA tournament pools back in March. As Rick Neuheisel discovered, everyone may do them but that does not make it permissible. The former University of Washington football coach was fired two years ago after he lied to NCAA investigators about participating in the basketball pools. Now, he is suing both the university and the NCAA, claiming wrongful termination.

Neuheisel was questioned at a downtown Seattle hotel June 4, 2003, by NCAA investigators who initially queried him about other minor violations at the UW. Neuheisel's lead attorney, Bob Sulkin, says the coach was ambushed by the gambling questions, leading to Neuheisel's evasiveness in his first two sessions.



After about a week, Hedges officially initiated proceedings to fire Neuheisel, citing a clause in his contract prohibiting acts of dishonesty. Neuheisel's side contends Hedges was disinclined to fire him, doing so only when key NCAA officials made it clear Washington would be treated more favorably if he were terminated.



"This has never been an issue about dishonesty," Sulkin argued at a hearing earlier this month. "Dishonesty is nothing but a subterfuge."

Complicating the issue even further are emails sent by the university's former compliance officer that mistakenly authorized such tournament pools.



In the opening statements of the trial, Neuheisel's attorney said that his client was ambushed by the gambling questions and was "playing dodgeball." The attorney for the university presented a far different scenario, stating that Neuheisel got caught in his own web of lies that triggered the termination clause in his contract.



The trial continues today. Experts say that the NCAA rarely loses in court, so it will be interesting to see the outcome of this case.

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