Kevin Ollie Asks UConn for Retraction, Could Sue School for Defamation

Former Connecticut men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie could file a lawsuit against the school as part of his desire to receive the money he believes he is owed after being fired in March. 

Per ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf, Ollie sent a letter to Connecticut president Susan Herbst demanding a retraction from the university after releasing transcripts related to an NCAA investigation to media outlets and could sue for defamation and invasion of privacy. 

The NCAA notified Connecticut of an investigation into the men's basketball program in January.

Per Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant, a total of 1,355 pages of documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed that NCAA infractions included facilitating a phone call to a recruit from Ray Allen and have players workout with an outside trainer on campus and in Atlanta. 

Medcalf noted there was also a secondhand claim from Glen Miller, a Huskies associate head coach from 2010-17, that Ollie paid a former recruit's mother $30,000 to receive a commitment from her son. 

"The defamatory allegation that Coach Ollie paid $30,000 to the mother of a student athlete published widely by the University of Connecticut constitutes not only defamation but also gives rise to the tort of false light invasion of privacy," the letter sent to the University of Connecticut said.

When UConn fired Ollie on March 10, the school announced it was for "just cause," allowing them to avoid paying him the $10 million left on his contract.