Lawyers for UConn, Ollie appear in federal court

BRIDGEPORT — Lawyers for UConn and Kevin Ollie appeared before a federal judge at U.S. District Court Friday morning as the sides argued over a claim the school is preventing the former coach from filing a racial discrimination complaint.

Ollie’s legal team is seeking a motion to preserve his right to arbitration, regardless of his potential civil rights lawsuit. UConn has asked that the motion be dismissed.

Judge Kari A. Dooley heard the arguments and questioned lawyers from both sides. While she said she will prioritize the case, she gave no indication of when she will rule on the motion.

Ollie did not attend the hearing.

UConn fired Ollie in March, citing “just cause” related to NCAA rules violations. The school announced last week a list of self-imposed penalties in response to the NCAA allegations.

By tying the dismissal to the violations, the school contends it is not obligated to pay Ollie the more than $10 million left on his contract. Ollie filed an internal grievance through the

UConn Chapter of the Association of University Professors and the sides were set to enter the arbitration process.

Ollie, who is black, also believes the school treated him differently than former coach Jim Calhoun, who did not lose his job after the program incurred NCAA recruiting penalties. Ollie’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in federal court last month seeking an injunction that would allow him to file a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities with losing the right to arbitration.

The collective bargaining agreement between UConn and the union representing Ollie includes language that allows the school to not follow the grievance process if an employees “seeks to resolve the matter in any other forum.” Ollie’s side cited the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in claiming he should preserve access to arbitration while pursuing the discrimination claim.

On Friday, Dooley questioned Ollie’s attorney Todd Steigman about the hypothetical

nature of the argument. She noted that until Ollie files a discrimination complaint, the harm caused was hypothetical — “A number of things have to happen before a loss or injury is inflicted,” Dooley said.

Ollie’s attorney Jacques J. Parenteau said in a statement after the hearing, “Today the United States District Court heard argument on jurisdictional issues related to Coach Ollie’s quest to secure the full protection of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically on the question of discrimination that presents itself in the facts surrounding the termination of his employment by the University of Connecticut. There is no question that Judge Kari A. Dooley is giving these issues thoughtful and full consideration and has promised to provide a ruling soon. We remain confident that Coach Ollie will ultimately be able to assert unequal treatment claims at the appropriate time.”

If Dooley sides with UConn and dismissed the motion, Ollie could still move ahead with his discrimination complaint and eventually file another lawsuit if UConn ends the arbitration process.

In preparation for arbitration,

Ollie’s team also filed an Application to Take Depositions in Superior Court in Hartford Thursday. The motion was filed on behalf of the union and seeks to depose witnesses from outside of the state during the arbitration process.

“The purpose of that Application is to preserve testimony for presentation at the arbitration from witnesses who we have spoken to that reside outside the state of Connecticut,” Parenteau said in a statement. “Some of these individuals were directly involved in the incidents cited by President (Susan) Herbst’s letter supporting the termination of Coach Ollie’s employment; yet, representatives of the University of Connecticut have never spoken to them about the evidence they possess related to the claims made against Coach Ollie in this case.

“We believe the testimony from these witnesses will demonstrate that the University of Connecticut never had just cause to fire Coach Ollie and prevent him from obtaining the benefits of his employment contract.”