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Thursday, January 4, 2001
Nee sues Nebraska athletic director
Associated Press
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LINCOLN, Neb. -- Former Nebraska basketball coach Danny Nee,
who was fired at the end of last season, is suing athletic director
Bill Byrne for defamation of character.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha and
accuses Byrne of making false statements about Nee's job
performance and hampering his ability to coach and recruit players.
Nee was fired in March after 14 seasons at Nebraska. The
Cornhuskers were 11-19 last season, the team's first losing record
in 10 seasons.
Former Butler coach Barry Collier replaced Nee.
Nee now coaches at Robert Morris. He could not be reached for
comment Wednesday because he was on the road recruiting, said Marty
Galosi, sports information director at Robert Morris.
Calls to Byrne were referred to Richard Wood, general counsel
for the University of Nebraska.
Wood said the lawsuit was without merit. The school has hired a
private attorney to represent Byrne.
"The university ... fully honored the terms and conditions of
Danny Nee's contract of employment, including fully honoring the
conditions of the buyout clause," Wood said.
Nee was paid $438,000 for the three years remaining on his
contract, according to university records.
In the lawsuit, Nee claims Byrne "maliciously and in bad faith
took actions intended to result in the termination" of Nee.
Nee alleges that Byrne permitted and promoted the dissemination
of false statements about him in order to undermine the morale of
Nee's team and impair his ability to recruit players "to improve
and maintain the quality of the basketball team."
Byrne's actions caused Nee to suffer "financial hardship,
embarrassment, loss of esteem, loss of income from the university,
loss of income from other sources, and loss of good name and
reputation," the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages of more than $75,000.
Nee's attorney, Ronald Palagi, could not be reached for comment.
Nee coached the Cornhuskers to 20-win seasons seven times,
compiling an overall record of 254-190. Nebraska made five NCAA
Tournament appearances under Nee, who won more games at the school
than any other coach.
But the Huskers did not win an NCAA Tournament game and did not
win a regular-season conference title.
Nee came to Nebraska in 1986 after six seasons at Ohio, where he
took the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament twice. Before that, he was
an assistant at Notre Dame.
In his first season at Robert Morris, Nee is 1-12.
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