NCAA Basketball Investigation/Lawsuit Thread (merged)

[jwinslow]

Well, one wonders if it is just press over-reaction to his deposition, or if Andy really did piss off the press so badly that they just can't wait to dump him in a bit of controversy. :(

Saying that he thought the NCAA would find that Ohio State lost control and saying that he thought Ohio State lost control are very different things.

they've made a living off of dragging him around in the slime... why stop now?

this sounds worse than it is, IMO.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

12/12/05

O’Brien trial begins today
Monday, December 12, 2005 [FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Associated Press[/FONT]

COLUMBUS - Former Ohio State men’s basketball Coach Jim O’Brien will try to prove in a trial that the university was wrong to fire him for giving a recruit a $6,700 loan.

O’Brien is suing Ohio State, saying it owes him at least $3.5 million in guaranteed salary and benefits for his 2004 dismissal. With damages, the award could be worth millions more.

O’Brien, head coach of the Buckeyes for seven years, was fired June 8, 2004. Then-Ohio State Athletics Director Andy Geiger said O’Brien was fired after the coach acknowledged to him he had given $6,700 in 1999 to 7-foot-3 Yugoslavian center Aleksandar Radojevic.

“The admission of the giving of (the money) is enough of an issue to take this step,” Geiger said at a news conference announcing O’Brien’s dismissal.

“Obviously, he knows that violates NCAA bylaws. He admitted that he knew that he did.”

The civil trial, which is scheduled to begin today, is separate from the NCAA’s investigation into violations committed during O’Brien’s coaching tenure with the Buckeyes.

On Friday, the NCAA’s Infractions Committee in Indianapolis started then abruptly postponed a hearing into seven breaches of NCAA bylaws between 1998 and 2004. There are also individual violations in the football and women’s basketball programs to address.

The hearing was to determine whether O’Brien’s firing and the banning of the Buckeyes from the 2005 postseason are adequate punishment for the violations. The postponement had nothing to do with the case’s merits, the NCAA said.

The NCAA ruled Radojevic ineligible after determining he accepted money from a professional team. He never enrolled at Ohio State.

The Toronto Raptors took him in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft with the 12th overall pick. He played with the Utah Jazz last season.

O’Brien’s Ohio State contract permitted the university to fire him for “a deliberate or serious violation by coach of any applicable law, policy, rule or regulation of Ohio State, the Big Ten Conference or the NCAA.”

O’Brien’s attorney, Joseph Murray, will argue that O’Brien’s contract required the NCAA to investigate and prove a “deliberate or serious violation” before he could be dismissed.

O’Brien, who declined through his attorney to be interviewed, has said he loaned Radojevic his own money for humanitarian reasons, because the player’s father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral. O’Brien also has said in court papers that he knew early on that Radojevic would never play for Ohio State.

Geiger told O’Brien’s lawyers in a deposition earlier this year that he thought the NCAA would conclude the school had lost control over the men’s basketball program, The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday. Geiger said Saturday that he was merely speculating.

A finding of lack of institutional control would allow the NCAA to ban a school from competition. That rarely occurs and has been considered unlikely in Ohio State’s case.

Current Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who succeeded Geiger in March, termed the violations “very serious.” “The level of extra benefits is significant,” he said earlier this year.

 

[LightningRod]

OB's testimony today.

Former Ohio State coach says loan OK because player was pro
By RUSTY MILLER, AP Sports Writer
December 12, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Fired Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien testified Monday that he lent $6,000 to a recruit because he knew the player had competed professionally and would never join the Buckeyes.

O'Brien spoke during the opening day of the trial in his wrongful firing lawsuit against Ohio State, which says he knew he was violating NCAA rules by keeping the loan secret for more than five years.

O'Brien, who had been the Buckeyes' coach for seven years, was fired June 8, 2004. Then-athletic director Andy Geiger said O'Brien was dismissed after the coach acknowledged to him he had given $6,700 in 1999 to 7-foot-3 Aleksandar Radojevic.

O'Brien described the amount as $6,000 of his own cash that he kept in a locked desk drawer. He said he already had learned in a letter that Radojevic played for a professional team in his native Serbia, and the player confirmed it for him.

"He had lost his amateur status," O'Brien said. "Unless something was going to change, he was not going to play for an NCAA institution."

University attorneys said it was still a violation because Radojevic had not been disqualified officially.

O'Brien is suing in the Ohio Court of Claims for $3.5 million in back pay and benefits, which could grow by millions if interest and other damages are awarded.

The trial is separate from the NCAA's investigation into violations while O'Brien was coaching the Buckeyes.

On Friday, the NCAA's Infractions Committee in Indianapolis started and then postponed a hearing into seven breaches of NCAA bylaws between 1998 and 2004. There are also violations in the football and women's basketball programs. Ohio State has admitted to the violations except an accusation that the university did not have control over the men's basketball program.

Ohio State learned of O'Brien's payment to Radojevic through a lawsuit by a woman who said she provided housing, meals and clothes for another Ohio State recruit from the same war-torn area, Slobodan Savovic. He played four years with the Buckeyes, including the 1998-99 team that O'Brien led to the Final Four, and is the source of several of the NCAA violations.

O'Brien, who coached the Buckeyes to a 133-88 record that included two Big Ten titles and a conference tournament title, previously has said he lent Radojevic his own money because the player's father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral.

"It was the right thing to do because of the circumstances of the family," O'Brien testified.

David Cupps, an attorney representing Ohio State, asked why O'Brien waited so long before reporting the loan. O'Brien said it was because of how the gesture could be perceived.

"That's exactly what is taking place." he said. "The perception, because the words that I hear are 'payment, inducement,' and none of those are accurate."

In his opening statement, Cupps said O'Brien harmed the university's image.

"To brand us as renegades ... is a black eye to the program which no amount of effort inside the university can arrest," he said.

But O'Brien's attorney, Joseph Murray, said Ohio State fired O'Brien for doing a good thing.

"Ohio State panicked, it panicked about the possibility of facing the NCAA," he said. "It rushed to judgment."

Updated on Monday, Dec 12, 2005 4:23 pm EST

 

[jimotis4heisman]

this should get interesting, legally techincally will be thrown around a lot. should be interesting...

 

[osugrad21]

Cleveland.com

Ex-Ohio St. coach O'Brien explains loan

12/13/2005, 6:09 a.m. ETBy RUSTY MILLER
The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fired Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien testified Monday that he lent money to a recruit knowing the player had competed professionally and would never join the Buckeyes.
O'Brien spoke during the opening day of the trial in his wrongful firing lawsuit against Ohio State. The school says he knew he was violating NCAA rules by keeping the loan secret for more than five years.
After coaching the Buckeyes for seven years, O'Brien was fired June 8, 2004. Then-athletic director Andy Geiger said O'Brien was dismissed after acknowledging he had given $6,700 to 7-foot-3 Aleksandar Radojevic in 1999.
O'Brien described the amount as $6,000 of his own cash that he kept in a locked desk drawer. He said he already had learned in a letter that Radojevic played for a professional team in his native Serbia, which the player confirmed.
"He had lost his amateur status," O'Brien said. "Unless something was going to change, he was not going to play for an NCAA institution."
University attorneys said it was still a violation because Radojevic had not been disqualified officially.
O'Brien is suing in the Ohio Court of Claims for $3.5 million in back pay and benefits, which could grow by millions if interest and other damages are awarded.
Geiger conceded in his testimony that Ohio State did not ask O'Brien any questions, did not consult with the NCAA on its eligibility bylaws and did not begin an investigation in the six weeks between the time Geiger first learned of the loan and O'Brien's firing.
"I was positive he (O'Brien) had committed an NCAA violation. ... I knew there would be sanctions," Geiger said. He later said the dates, times and some conversations were a "jumble" to him now.
The trial is separate from the NCAA's investigation into violations while O'Brien was coaching the Buckeyes.
On Friday, the NCAA's Infractions Committee in Indianapolis started and then postponed a hearing into seven breaches of NCAA bylaws between 1998 and 2004. There are also violations in the football and women's basketball programs. Ohio State has admitted to the violations except an accusation that the university did not have control over the men's basketball program.
Ohio State learned of O'Brien's payment to Radojevic through a lawsuit by a woman who said she provided housing, meals and clothes for another Ohio State recruit from the same area, Slobodan Savovic. He played four years with the Buckeyes, including the 1998-99 team that O'Brien led to the Final Four, and is the source of several of the NCAA violations.
O'Brien, who coached the Buckeyes to a 133-88 record that included two Big Ten titles and a conference tournament title, previously has said he lent Radojevic his own money because the player's father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral.
"It was the right thing to do because of the circumstances of the family," O'Brien testified.

 

[Steve19]

I'm glad O'Brien cleared that all up for us. I'm looking forward to hearing about gifts that he gave to others in similar troubled situations. I think that a Nobel Peace Prize or Mother Teresa Award can't be far off.:crazy:

There is no substitute for good ethics. There are no shortcuts to good recruiting. Enough said.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

O'Brien's attorney should have done better prep.. they should have told the client to start making loans to Iraqi's who are in the same situation !!! to demonstrate a pattern of international benevolence...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

12/13/05

Geiger testifies that ex-coach betrayed OSU’s trust
By Kathy Lynn Gray
The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 1:06 PM


Former coach Jim O'Brien betrayed a close relationship and the trust that came with it when he gave a basketball recruit a $6,000 loan and didn't tell Ohio State University, former Athletic Director Andy Geiger testified today.
"He lied," Geiger bluntly asserted as he testified in the second day of the breach-of-contract case that O'Brien has brought against OSU for his June 8, 2004 firing.

"We had such a strong relationship that I would have expected him to share with me that he had given money to a prospective student-athlete."
The former coach is seeking $9.5 million in his trial before Judge Joseph T. Clark in the Ohio Court of Claims.

At issue is a loan O'Brien made in December 1998 to Aleksandar Radojevic's mother, who was living in war-torn Yugoslavia and had just lost her husband.

O'Brien says he made the loan for humanitarian reasons and that it was not an NCAA violation because Radojevic was a professional athlete at the time.

The 7-foot-3 prospect had played in Europe in the mid 1990s.

But Ohio State is arguing that O'Brien's loan violated NCAA regulations because the school was recruiting Radojevic. The loan is one of nine alleged infractions the NCAA has accused Ohio State of in a separate matter.

In his testimony today, Geiger said O'Brien "willfully violated a rule and then covered it up" by not telling him about the payment. Geiger learned of it April 24, 2004 when O'Brien notified him.

Asked if he had grounds to fire O'Brien even if the payment did not constitute an NCAA violation, Geiger said yes.

"That was a breach of trust and therefore a breach of contract."
O'Brien's attorneys are arguing that his contract with OSU did not allow the school to fire him unless the NCAA determined that the payment was a major violation. The NCAA has investigated the matter but has not yet ruled on it.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

12/13/05

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A former Ohio State official challenged Jim O'Brien's reasoning for why he shouldn't have been fired, testifying Tuesday that the basketball coach acknowledged a $6,000 loan to a recruit was a rules violation.
O'Brien contends the loan of his own money was not an NCAA violation because he knew Aleksandar Radojevic, a 7-foot-3 prospect from Serbia, already lost his amateur status by playing professionally.
O'Brien, who coached the Buckeyes to a 133-88 record that included two Big Ten titles and a conference tournament title over seven seasons, is suing in the Ohio Court of Claims for $3.5 million in back pay and benefits. The judgment could grow by millions if interest and other damages are awarded.
Former athletic director Andy Geiger testified that O'Brien told him in April 2004, less than two months before he was fired, that he wanted Geiger to know about the loan.
"First of all, he said he committed a violation," Geiger said. "Secondly, he gave the money to a prospective student-athlete."
O'Brien disputes telling Geiger the loan was a violation. He testified Monday that he gave the money to Radojevic because his father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral.
Geiger said he was most bothered by O'Brien waiting more than five years to reveal the payment. O'Brien said he did so because no one would believe he gave the money for humanitarian reasons.
Radojevic never enrolled at Ohio State and was declared ineligible by the NCAA for accepting money from a team in his homeland. He later was selected in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft.
Ohio State said it was still a violation -- and fireable offense -- because Radojevic had not been officially declared ineligible to play college basketball at the time of the loan.
Geiger said he was angry Ohio State appealed the NCAA's decision finding Radojevic ineligible, and O'Brien still did not disclose the loan.
O'Brien's contract allowed for him to be suspended until the NCAA ruled after an investigation. But Geiger said the option was not considered seriously because the university thought the loan was such a blatant violation.
The trial is separate from the NCAA's investigation into violations committed while O'Brien was coaching the Buckeyes.
O'Brien's loan to Radojevic came to light through a lawsuit by a woman who said she provided housing, meals, money and clothes for another Ohio State recruit also from Serbia, Boban Savovic. He played four years with the Buckeyes, including the 1998-99 team that O'Brien led to the Final Four, and is the source of several NCAA violations.

 

[sandgk]

bucknuts there was a longer version than this on cleveland.com

basically take the text you quoted then add this.

Geiger was questioned by Joseph Murray, O'Brien's attorney, and the exchange grew contentious at times.
Geiger conceded that Ohio State did not ask O'Brien any questions, did not consult with the NCAA on its eligibility bylaws and did not begin an investigation in the six weeks between the time Geiger first learned of the loan to Radojevic and O'Brien's firing.
"I was positive he [O'Brien] had committed an NCAA violation. . . . I knew there would be sanctions," Geiger said. He later said the dates, times and some conversations were a "jumble" to him now.

The trial is separate from the NCAA's investigation into violations while O'Brien was coaching the Buckeyes.
On Friday, the NCAA's Infractions Committee in Indianapolis started and then postponed a hearing into seven breaches of NCAA bylaws between 1998 and 2004. There are also violations in the football and women's basketball programs. Ohio State has admitted to the violations except an accusation that the university did not have control over the men's basketball program.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

What strikes me is the complete turn around by Obie and his lawyers. They are now saying that at the time of the money being given to the player, Obie knew he did not have eligibility because he signed for money and played overseas briefly, BUT.....if you go back to the whole process of tOSU trying to get the prospect his eligibility to play, Obie was very upset when the NCAA determined he would not be able to play, so what was the deal?

Obie knows he broke NCAA rules, but he will probably get his money...

 

[LightningRod]

Heather Lykes' testimony.

Assistant AD says she didn’t talk to O’Brien about loan
Lyke Catalano relied on what Geiger told her
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Kathy Lynn Gray
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The woman who makes sure Ohio State complies with NCAA rules never spoke with Jim O’Brien about the incident that ended in his firing.

Associate athletics director Heather Lyke Catalano testified yesterday that she took former athletics director Andy Geiger’s word that O’Brien had admitted he’d violated NCAA rules when he lent the mother of basketball player Aleksandar Radojevic $6,000 in 1998.

"Andy told me Jim said he knew it was a violation," Lyke said in the second day of the breach-of-contract lawsuit that O’Brien has brought against Ohio State for his June 8, 2004, firing.

She said she decided that O’Brien’s action was a major NCAA violation after talking to Geiger. "Andy said Jim confessed," she said. "I did not talk to coach O’Brien."

The former OSU men’s basketball coach is seeking $9.5 million from Ohio State. The case is being heard by Judge Joseph T. Clark in the Ohio Court of Claims.

Geiger testified that O’Brien had betrayed a close relationship and the trust that came with it when he made the loan and didn’t tell him.

"He lied," Geiger bluntly asserted. "We had such a strong relationship that I would have expected him to share with me that he had given money to a prospective student-athlete."

Geiger said O’Brien "willfully violated a rule and then covered it up" by not telling him about the payment. Geiger learned of it on April 24, 2004, when O’Brien notified him because a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court had revealed the loan.

Asked whether he had grounds to fire O’Brien even if the payment was not an NCAA violation, Geiger said yes.

"That was a breach of trust and, therefore, a breach of contract."

Also testifying was Julie Vanetta, associate legal counsel for OSU athletics. She said that, although under O’Brien’s contract he could have been kept on as a coach while the NCAA investigated, OSU officials fired him because they believed he had breached his contract.

Vanetta said the university did not believe O’Brien’s contention in his lawsuit that the loan was allowed under NCAA rules.

"It’s the university’s belief that everything associated with the loan is a violation," Vanetta said.

O’Brien has said he made the loan to Radojevic’s mother, who was living in war-torn Yugoslavia and had just lost her husband. O’Brien says he lent the money for humanitarian reasons and that it was not an NCAA violation, because Radojevic was a professional athlete at the time. The 7-foot-3 prospect had played in Europe in the mid-1990s.

Ohio State says O’Brien’s loan violated NCAA regulations because the school was recruiting Radojevic. Geiger pointed out that O’Brien didn’t tell him about the loan even when Ohio State appealed the NCAA’s decision finding Radojevic ineligible.

The loan is one of nine infractions the NCAA has accused Ohio State of in a separate matter.

Also testifying yesterday was David Swank, who was on the NCAA Committee on Infractions from 1990 to 1999 and headed the committee for seven of those years. That committee hears evidence about alleged violations and determines infractions and sanctions.

Swank, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, said that, after studying documents related to the case, he concluded that O’Brien’s loan did not violate NCAA rules, because Radojevic was a professional athlete at the time.

O’Brien’s attorneys say his contract did not allow Ohio State to fire him unless the NCAA determined that the payment was a major violation. The NCAA has investigated but has not yet ruled on the allegation.

A hearing on that and eight other alleged violations was under way before the NCAA infractions committee last Friday when it was abruptly suspended without explanation. The NCAA ordered participants not to talk about the reason the hearing was halted.

[email protected]

 

[strohs]

Did anybody listen to the big show yesterday? Hooely was saying he had OB on tape talking about something, in 1999, about this case.
I didnt get a chance to listen, he said it would be around 5:45 yesterday.
Im just curios as to wtf he was talking about..

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Did anybody listen to the big show yesterday? Hooely was saying he had OB on tape talking about something, in 1999, about this case.
I didnt get a chance to listen, he said it would be around 5:45 yesterday.
Im just curios as to wtf he was talking about..

I didn't hear it, but I believe it was a recording of Obie back in 1999, when after months of tOSU trying to restore the eligibility of the prospect who he gave money to, the NCAA determined he used his eligiblity due to briefly playing overseas and taking money. Upon hearing the news, Obie was very upset and basically said that the NCAA was wrong in the decision, blah, blah, blah.....

The point of playing the tape was to question the following:

1. If Obie knew the kid was ineligible when he gave him the money, why was Obie so upset when the NCAA determined in fact he was ineligible?

2. Why did Obie let Ohio State fight to restore his eligibility and not tell Ohio State about the loan until 5 years after the fact and only when Obie knew it would come to light in another lawsuit?

 

[tsteele316]

The point of playing the tape was to question the following:

1. If Obie knew the kid was ineligible when he gave him the money, why was Obie so upset when the NCAA determined in fact he was ineligible?

2. Why did Obie let Ohio State fight to restore his eligibility and not tell Ohio State about the loan until 5 years after the fact and only when Obie knew it would come to light in another lawsuit?

that was exactly what i was going to say. OB's actions have contradicted his story greatly.

Also, does anyone recall when this first came to light 2 summers ago? If I'm not mistaken, Geiger said that obie informed him of this situation during the spring game, as a result of the proceeding lawsuit filed by salyers. At that time, obie asked geiger if andy wanted himto resign as coach, still not informing him of the $6k payment. geiger told him no, only to find out about the payment later, and can him.

So, on top of the seemingly hypocritical actions of obie in 1999, he offered to step down, which is clearly the action a coach would take if he did not violate anything in his contract.