ORLANDO, Fla. — A former UCF football assistant coach is suing the university and the athletic department for breach of contract, alleging that Coach George O’Leary engaged in continuous criticism of his work and created a work environment that included bullying, threatening behavior and repeated discriminatory epithets.
Former defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro filed the suit in Florida last week. The suit alleges O’Leary made derogatory remarks about Ferraro’s Italian heritage, African-Americans and persons of Jewish descent.
Ferraro, who served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Maine for two seasons before leaving for UCF, was hired as the Knights’ defensive coordinator on Dec. 26 of last year following the departure of Jim Fleming. The hiring came just days before UCF played Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Ferraro states in the suit that he was given a termination letter on Feb. 26, a day after he voiced his concerns to the school’s human resources department and in an email to O’Leary and his fellow assistant coaches.
That email was attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit.
“No longer will I put up with your constant verbal abuse of both our coaching and support staff,” Ferraro wrote in the email. “Threatening coaches on a regular basis with their jobs and racial slurs mixed in to make a point is wrong. I guess that formula of bullying has worked in terms of wins (and) losses but it is not the working environment that I want to be associated with.”
UCF spokesman Grant Heston said in a statement that the school previously investigated Ferraro’s accusations and that they were found to be without merit.
“UCF immediately investigated the allegations Mr. Ferraro made when he abruptly abandoned his job,” the statement said. “The university’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office found the allegations to be untrue.
“None of the individuals alleged to have been the subject of, or to have overhead, these supposed statements corroborated Mr. Ferraro’s claims. In fact, until seeking compensation after abandoning his job, it does not appear he ever discussed this with anyone at UCF.”
Ferraro maintains he never actually resigned from his post.
MICHIGAN: The school announced changes to its injury protocol Tuesday, admitting it made a mistake in handling quarterback Shane Morris following a suspected concussion because of a “serious lack of communication” and “confusion” among the coaching staff.
Athletic Director Dave Brandon said Michigan plans to have a medical professional in the press box or video booth at future football games after what happened over the weekend.
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