HARTFORD, Conn. _ Former UConn basketball coach Kevin Ollie has filed litigation alleging that UConn has illegally attempted to deter Ollie from filing a racial discrimination complaint.
In the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. district court, Ollie claims that he faced "disparate treatment" from that of his predecessor, Jim Calhoun, who kept his job despite being found to have committed comparable recruiting violations to the ones that UConn cited when firing Ollie for cause last spring.
Ollie claims that after he informed UConn of his intention to file a complaint, the university said it would refuse to proceed with the contractual-grievance arbitration process that will decide whether Ollie receives the money that remained on his UConn contract when he was fired.
Per the complaint, Ollie had until Dec. 17 to file a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. He seeks emergency injunction relief that would allow him to do so while still proceeding with the arbitration process.
In a statement sent to The Courant on Tuesday, university spokesperson Stephanie Reitz contested Ollie's suggestion that race played a role in his firing.
"As UConn has stated from the outset, the university terminated Kevin Ollie's employment due to violations of NCAA rules, pursuant to his employment agreement," Reitz said. "Any claim to the contrary is without merit."
Reitz did not address the charge that UConn deterred Ollie from filing the complaint with the CHRO.
