Former Mississippi State coach files lawsuit against NCAA Associated Press
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Former Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and two of its investigators, claiming the defendants caused him to lose his job and drove him out of college football by making false allegations. In October, the NCAA placed Mississippi State's football program on four years probation, stripped it of four scholarships during each of the next two seasons and banned the Bulldogs from postseason play this year. The NCAA's infractions committee reported it had found that two former Mississippi State assistants and several boosters committed recruiting violations between 1998-2002. Allegations of unethical conduct against Sherrill were dismissed. The Starkville Daily News reported Wednesday that Sherrill filed the lawsuit Dec. 2 in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, seeking several million dollars in damages. The lawsuit names the NCAA, investigators Richard Johanningmeier and Mark P. Jones, and Ridgeland businesswoman Julie Gibert as defendants, both jointly and separately. Sherrill, who announced his retirement in October 2003, claims Johanningmeier, Jones, and Gibert fabricated charges against him during the NCAA probe and defamed him by releasing the charges to the media. The publication of allegations made by Johanningmeier, Jones, and Gibert were intended to permanently damage Sherrill's personal and professional reputation and career, the suit claims. Sherrill could not immediately be contacted for comment. In a 2003 interview with The Associated Press, Sherrill said he believed "there is a group of people that went after Mississippi State. The investigator didn't want to know the truth when he was given information." Sherrill said in the earlier interview that he had refused to speak to Johanningmeier during the probe. "I did not talk to the guy because I felt that he was not truthful. That he misrepresented people that he talked to and how many times he talked to them," Sherrill said. Sherrill said that he believed Johanningmeier was responsible for a Jackson newspaper reporting one of the allegations being investigated. Former Brandon High School football player Kenneth Griffith told The Clarion-Ledger he received $800 from a Mississippi State assistant coach. Sherrill was replaced at Mississippi State by Sylvester Croom, the first black head football coach in Southeastern Conference history. --- Information from: Starkville Daily News, http://www.starkviledailynews.com _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
