Houston Nutt Is Suing Ole Miss Over Alleged Defamation Of Character

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Former Ole Miss head football coach Houston Nutt filed a civil lawsuit on Wednesday against the University and the Ole Miss Athletic Foundation for breaching his contract via defamation of character, in relation to the school’s handling of an NCAA investigation. Per The Clarion-Ledger...

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Lee Tyner, Ole Miss' general counsel said in a statement: "We have not yet been served with the lawsuit, but we are aware it has been filed. We were provided a short copy a short time ago. We will carefully review Coach Nutt's claims and respond in due course."

Per the complaint, the contract breach allegedly stems from: "certain false and defamatory statements made by and on behalf of the Defendants in connection with an NCAA investigation of the Ole Miss football program."

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And according to a report from Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde, the lawsuit goes after current Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze and athletic director Ross Bjork for creating a “false narrative” regarding the nature of the NCAA’s long-running investigation.”...

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“Coach Freeze had knowingly lied to the journalists and recruiting prospects by saying that the NCAA’s investigation had little, if anything, to do with him or his coaching staff and was instead focused on alleged rules violations by Coach Nutt’s staff,” the complaint says. “Coach Freeze falsely stated that most, if not all, of the NCAA’s allegations involved ‘Houston Nutt’ and his staff. At the time Coach Freeze made these statements, he was fully aware that they were patently false, yet he continued to make such statements, severely damaging Coach Nutt’s reputation. … The protection of Coach Freeze became the University’s Number One priority in dealing with the NCAA investigation.”

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The whole lawsuit is here.

(CollegeSpun)