Ollie could take case to federal court
Death of arbitrator in case could change scope of legal battle
The Jan. 19 death of Marcia Greenbaum, the arbitrator in former UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie’s dispute with the school, will further delay the already slow-moving process — and may even change the scope of Ollie’s legal battle.
Ollie is seeking to be paid the nearly $11 million left on his contract at the time of his firing in March, 2018. UConn claims it fired Ollie with cause due to multiple infractions the NCAA later agreed had occurred during his seven-year tenure.
Numerous witnesses, including Ray Allen and several other former UConn players and coaches, from all over the country have already testified1in the case over the past 2 ⁄2 years or so. Every one of them may have to do so again once a new arbitrator is found.
Or if one is found. It’s possible that Ollie’s team could forget about arbitration and instead pursue a race discrimination case against UConn in federal court. In 2019, a federal judge dismissed the claim made by Ollie and his legal team, led by Jacques Parenteau, that Ollie was treated differently than other former white coaches, including Jim Calhoun, when he was dismissed. Judge Kari Dooley ruled that UConn could end arbitration proceedings if Ollie filed a racial discrimination complaint.
Ollie has yet to file a discrimination case, and the statute of limitations for that runs out in March.
With that in mind, that may be the avenue his legal team elects to take. It would involve a statute under the 14th Amendment that states a person can’t be denied a contractual right based on race, but also permits a person to bring race discrimination claims without having to go through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“We’re deeply saddened by the untimely death of Marcia Greenbaum,” Parenteau said. “She was a wonderful person. We’re still evaluating what is to be done next.”