On Tuesday, Arizona fired its football coach Rich Rodriguez after carrying out an investigation into the various allegations of sexual harassment charged against him. Also, the direction and climate of the football program was also one factor among the several other factors behind taking such a move.
Last week on Thursday, a former employee had filed a $7.5 million notice of claim against Rodriguez with the state attorney general’s office, accusing him of conducting a hostile workplace. The Arizona Daily Star was the first to reveal the notice of claim which is a legal document that signals a lawsuit will be filed after a public records request.
On Tuesday evening, the University’s president, Robert C. Robbins and the University’s athletic director, Dave Heeke sent a joint statement that announced Rodriguez’s dismissal. In the statement, Robbins and Heeke mentioned that the university had retained a law firm in October to look into the harassment allegations against Rodriguez by a former employee of the athletic department. But during the investigation, the accuser did not agree to participate and cooperate with the investigation. It was then that the University determined the claim could be substantiated.
The statement further said that later, however, the Arizona Athletics did come to know about information, both before and during the investigation that cited concerns with the direction and climate of the football program. After his firing, Rodriguez posted a statement on his Twitter handle late on Tuesday and said that he was deeply disappointed to know about his firing. He also referred to the university “buying out the contract.”
He stated after his firing in which he said that he cooperated with the investigation and passed a voluntary polygraph test as well even though the accuser did not cooperate. He said that the claims against him are “baseless and false” and “include a single truth.”
