Former Auburn baseball coach Sunny Golloway files suit for buyout

[jbcarol]

Former Auburn baseball coach Sunny Golloway suing Jay Jacobs, Auburn administrators for wrongful termination

Former Auburn baseball coach Sunny Golloway filed a federal civil lawsuit against Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs, the university's board of trustees and several athletics administrators claiming he was wrongfully terminated and is owed a $1 million buyout.

Golloway is suing Auburn's Board of Trustees, Jacobs, former Auburn athletics chief operating officer and now athletic director at UCONN David Benedict, senior associate athletic director Rich McGlynn, director of baseball operations Scott Duval and athletics administrator Jeremy Roberts, for wrongful termination, breach of contract, defamation, fraud and tortious interference and claims he did not commit acts that warranted termination "for cause," when the school fired him last September.

The 86-page lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on Monday afternoon by Birmingham-based attorney John D. Saxon, claims "because (Golloway) got sideways with an intrenched [sic] bureaucrat in the Athletics Department, charges were trumped up against him and he was shown the door."

Golloway was paid a salary of $650,000 annually, per the contract he signed in June 2013, which automatically extended through June 30, 2019 following a winning season in 2015. By firing Golloway "for cause" Auburn absolved itself of a $1 million buyout due Golloway, per his contract, if he was terminated "without cause" with at least three but less than four years remaining on his contract.

Upon being fired, when Golloway asked Jacobs if it was for cause or without cause, the lawsuit claims, "Jacobs replied, with a vicious, personal tone, 'It's for cause. We're not gonna pay you a dime, brother.; Golloway replied, understandably, 'Don't call me brother.'"

[jbcarol]

Matthew Stevens ‏@matthewcstevens 10h10 hours ago

The language of this 86-page Sunny Golloway lawsuit: quotes Winston Churchill, uses the words "PRESTO CHANGO", and invokes Jerry Sandusky.

The 86-page suit claims Jay Jacobs "is a big Tweeter", that the firing was "a frame job", allegedly quotes Gus Malzahn & trashes Bruce Pearl

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/aldotcomSports/status/735997728828887040

In 2015, Golloway's second season at Auburn, the Tigers went 36-26 overall including 13-17 in SEC play to finish ninth in the conference. Auburn snapped a five-year streak without a trip to an NCAA Regional and were later knocked out of the post-season during Regional play.

Auburn hired Golloway in the summer of 2013 after he led the Oklahoma baseball program for nine seasons, with one trip the College World Series (2010). He has 15 NCAA Regional appearances in 17 years as a head coach.

Butch Thompson was hired to replace Golloway in October. In Thompson's first season, Auburn went 23-33 overall and 8-22 in SEC play and failed to qualify for this week's SEC Tournament.

It also includes a variety of anecdotes and unsubstantiated claims, many of which are embarrassing and inflammatory in nature, about Jacobs, McGlynn, Roberts, Duval, Thompson and other members of Auburn's athletic department.

http://media.al.com/sports_impact/other/Sunny%20Golloway%20lawsuit.pdf