Four high school football players, who claimed they were recruited by Savannah State University, then denied admission because they were white, have sued the predominantly black school.
The lawsuit, which names the Board of Regents, SSU President Earl Yarbrough and Interim A.D. Marilynn Stacey-Suggs as defendants, seems wedded to another lawsuit filed by the former football coach, who was also white. In the latter, Robby Wells claimed he was forced to resign because of his race. In addition to the above defendants, he named Compliance Director Shed Dawson and Interim Head Football Coach Julius Dixon as defendants.
Wells maintains that the university dismissed him because his fiancée, who hosted his television show last fall, is black. Besides the alleged discrimination, he alleged that university officials also defamed him by accusing him in media reports of violating university rules and regulations regarding recruitment.
Wells is seeking lost wages and benefits as well as compensatory damages for the alleged violation of his Constitutional rights.
In his lawsuit, which can be found at
http://www.scribd.com/full/32008777?access_key=key-1c77i8lkxbfqhqhoeag9, Wells claimed he was told during a January 2010 meeting that he “would never have the support of the citizens of Savannah because he is white and his fiancée is black.”
The school has countered that Wells was forced out, principally because the team was 2-8 in 2009.
Outgoing administration vice-president and Interim Athletic Director Claud Flythe has gone even further, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Wells is a “pathological liar.” Further, he said there were concerns about “a misuse of travel money during the 2008 football season,” “difficulty following the chain of command” and “receiving extra benefits that had not been reported through university channels.”
Meanwhile, the players — Jacob Farmer and Andrew Cannon from Florida, North Carolina’s Rico Arellano and in-state recruit Forrest Hill – allege that they were heavily recruited by Wells and his staff, were offered scholarships and each verbally committed to SSU prior to National Signing Day.
But after Wells was forced out, the school allegedly withdrew their scholarship offers.
Joe Steffen, the school’s lawyer, said none of the students were offered formal scholarships from the university, according to the AJC.
“We don’t have formal paperwork on any one of them,” he told the paper. Steffen refuted the claims of racism. “It is very much part of our policy to increase the racial diversity of this university. We formally commit ourselves to that.”
The four men, through the courts, are seeking admission to SSU, scholarship assistance, punitive damages and cost of litigation.
