Rodriguez responds to allegations
editor1 |Jan 17,2008
|
|
|
TOLEDO, Ohio (Ticker) -- Former West Virginia coach Rich
Rodriguez angrily responded to accusations that he destroyed
files pertinent to the football program, according to a report
Thursday in the Toledo Blade.
Rodriguez told the Blade that West Virginia officials are
attempting to slander him in the wake of his leaving to take the
University of Michigan coaching job on December 16.
"The things they are saying are not true," Rodriguez told the
newspaper. "It's a lie. How can you put out lies and think it's
OK? They don't care what the truth is, they just want to smear
Rich Rodriguez."
Reports circulated Tuesday that paperwork detailing every player
on West Virginia's roster, as well as the program's activities
over the past seven years, went missing between Rodriguez's
resignation and the team's return from the Fiesta Bowl on
January 3.
"The implication to me is slanderous," Rodriguez told the Blade.
"What they are implying, to me, attacks my integrity, and
that's why I'm so upset. This has gone too far."
Rodriguez said he had plenty of witnesses when he cleaned out
his office.
"The day that's in question, when they said I was doing all this
stuff in the office, I probably had 25 or 30 players that came
over and wished me well," Rodriguez said. "We talked and we
hugged - obviously they wanted us to stay - but they understood
and they were great about it."
This is just the latest twist in the ongoing saga between
Rodriguez and his alma mater.
The school is trying to recover $4 million from Rodriguez as a
condition of breaking his contract with six years remaining.
Rodriguez has claimed West Virginia breached the contract by not
fulfilling all of its terms.
Rodriguez enjoyed a successful career at West Virginia,
eclipsing double figures in wins in each of the last three
seasons while guiding the Mountaineers to six straight bowl
appearances.
A West Virginia graduate who signed a contract extension to stay
at his alma mater last December, Rodriguez compiled a 60-26
record in Morgantown.
|
|
Print
E-mail
Del.icio.us
Digg
