Cullen to file suit....

[Greenhead22]

March 20, 2005
Ole Miss assistant fired, says attorney Ole Miss fire

Athletic director says Joe Cullen has been reassigned, not fired

By Michael Wallace
mwallace@clarionledger.com

OXFORD — Joe Cullen apparently still has a job at Ole Miss if he wants it. But his job description no longer includes coaching the football team's defensive line.

Cullen was dismissed from Ed Orgeron's staff and will be reassigned at the university, athletic director Pete Boone said Saturday.

"That's an absolute lie," said Mike Wall, Cullen's Oxford-based attorney. "The university is doing nothing but trying to save face. They violated that man's due process concerning his job."
Wall said his client was fired by the school on March 11, eight days after Cullen was arrested for public drunkenness. Wall says the dismissal came only after newspapers reported about the arrest.

Wall said Cullen initially was told his legal issues "would not be a problem" when Cullen met with Orgeron on March 4.

Cullen continued to work with the team until his arrest made the papers on March 10. Wall said that's when Orgeron called Cullen into his office and fired him.

"Coach Orgeron knew about (the arrest) the day after it occurred," Wall said. "(Cullen) was initially told it was not a problem. It didn't become a problem until after it got into the paper. It was a knee-jerk reaction that he was terminated."

Attempts to reach Orgeron for comment Saturday evening were unsuccessful. When told of Wall's comments, Boone said that Cullen was told on March 11 he would no longer coach the Rebels' defensive line but would still have a job.

"Because of an off-the-field incident, coach Orgeron recommended to me last Friday that Joe Cullen be suspended from his coaching duties," Boone said. "Based on Coach Orgeron's recommendations, Coach Cullen will no longer serve as an assistant coach. He remains an employee of the university and will be reassigned."

Boone, who is in North Carolina to attend the Ole Miss women's basketball game today in the NCAA Tournament, declined to comment further.

Cullen, 37, has not been with the team since March 10. Wall said Cullen has been in Massachusets staying with his mother because the university forced him out of the house it had arranged for him to stay in the past two months.

Cullen pleaded not guilty through his attorney to the public drunkenness charge in Oxford Municipal Court last Wednesday. He is awaiting a May 4 trial on the misdemeanor, which carries up to a $182 fine upon conviction.

Wall said he has been in discussions with Ole Miss officials for a week in an attempt to work out a financial settlement for Cullen, who was one of the first assistants Orgeron hired when he took over at Ole Miss in December.

Wall said talks with Ole Miss attorney Lee Tyner have hit a snag because the university refuses to honor Cullen's contract. Cullen was scheduled to earn $120,000 a year on a contract that runs through June 2006.

Wall said there is not a morality clause in Cullen's contract or any language that states he can be fired for an arrest without prosecution.

"They don't want to honor his contract," Wall said. "He is willing to walk away with less than what he's owed (through June), but they're not even willing to pay what he's contractually owed."

Wall would not say how much Cullen was willing to settle for to resign. He did say Cullen plans to file a grievance with the university on Monday, claiming breech of contract, wrongful termination, a violation of due process and fraud.

"There is absolutely no question that he's been terminated by the university," Wall said.

Ole Miss is standing in the way of allowing Cullen to move on with his career, Wall said.

"He just wants the truth out," Wall said. "He can't get another job because employers don't know if he's been fired, suspended, reassigned or whatever."

Cullen was the second Ole Miss assistant football coach arrested on an alcohol-related charge in a five-week period. Former linebackers coach Charlie Camp resigned on Jan. 29, a day after he was arrested by Oxford police for driving under the influence.