WARNING.. Scarbinsky alert! http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/kscarbinsky.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/sports/1056705426322030.xml
The Price story far from over for Alabama 06/27/03 Mike Price has a game plan for the rest of his life. He wants to get back his reputation so he can get back on the sideline. Part I of his plan was the $20 million lawsuit filed last week against Sports Illustrated for libel and slander. He has a better chance to win that one than he would've the Oklahoma game. Expect a settlement that compensates and vindicates him to some degree. Will Alabama be next on his list? Will the short-time Alabama football coach drag the university into a drawn-out court battle that lasts longer than his tenure in Tuscaloosa? Will Price fire back at Alabama in a legal way because the school fired him without any kind of financial settlement? Definitely. Says who? Says Price's attorney, Stephen Heninger. "So there's no misunderstanding," Heninger said in a Thursday phone conversation, "we will definitely file suit against the university." Just what the university's lawyers need, especially after their losing streak against the NCAA. There's one more step that has to take place before Heninger files suit against Alabama on Price's behalf. The school's putting together a mediation committee to hear Price's appeal of his dismissal. The school just submitted to Price and his attorney a list of faculty members who could serve on the three-person committee. Price gets to pick one faculty member. So does the university. Those two faculty members then pick the third member of the mediation committee. Heninger said he hopes that committee will hold a hearing on Price's dismissal by mid-July, but added that "we're not optimistic about the appeal." At issue is the way Alabama handled Price's firing. Heninger said the university didn't follow its own "progressive discipline policies" in dealing with Price's behavior during that now-infamous trip to Pensacola for a golf pro-am. "Why wasn't progressive discipline used?" Heninger asked. "Termination wasn't the appropriate route." Price and his lawyer know the coach is not going to get his job back, not since Mike Shula's already on the job. What they want is for Alabama to continue its long-standing practice of paying a settlement to a coach it cut loose under the terms of his contract. Alabama's only comment on the issue has come from president Robert Witt. After he fired Price, Witt said the coach was not entitled to any settlement. Alabama has stood by that opinion in several letters to Price's lawyer. Does Price want to coach again? "He sure does," Heninger said, but there are "no bites right now." Aren't the coach and his lawyer concerned that filing suit against Alabama may scare off other schools that otherwise might be willing to hire Price? "It's a natural fear," Heninger said, "but we have an obligation under the law to try to mitigate damages." Does Alabama understand that the Mike Price story is not over, that he's not going away until he gets his pay or his day in court? "They understand," Heninger said. "I've rattled that saber in several letters. We're not bluffing." Kevin Scarbinsky's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
