A Louisiana state appeals court has reversed the finding of a jury, which had held that the former head football coach of Grambling University was terminated without just cause.
In so ruling, the panel found the school was justified since “the coach was insubordinate to the university president, made public comments that impugned the reputation of the university and generated unfavorable publicity, and caused the university to be investigated by the NCAA.”
Plaintiff Melvin Spears, Jr. was hired by Grambling to be its head coach on January 1, 2005. He was given a five-year contract, with a starting yearly salary of $150,000 and incremental increases based on the football team’s performance. After several incidents, which led to the panel’s aforementioned conclusion, Spears was notified on December 18, 2006 by Grambling President Dr. Horace Judson that he was terminating his employment on December 31, 2006.
Spears sued the Louisiana Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System (the Board) on February 8, 2007, claiming that, despite “his successful performance” he was being terminated without cause.
The Board disagreed, alleging that Spears had “wrongfully administered drug tests to student football players at Grambling; that Spears had sent letters to some parents informing them that their sons had failed the drug test, although some of those football players had not been drug-tested, and some of them had gotten inconclusive test results; that Spears had renamed the Grambling training room for persons formerly affiliated with Grambling without following Grambling and University of Louisiana System rules, then denied his actions when questioned by Grambling Athletic Director Troy Mathieu; that Spears caused investigation of the Grambling football program by the NCAA after he allowed a football player to use his vehicle and allowed one or more ineligible football team members to play Alabama A&M in Alabama, causing Grambling to be fined by the NCAA; that Spears directed Grambling’s football team to continue to score in an unsportsmanlike manner against the Prairie View A&M University football team in a game although Grambling was already far ahead in the game; that Spears made insensitive public comments about Alcorn State University in Mississippi after Alcorn wanted to reschedule its game with Grambling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005; that Spears failed to conduct the football program, or himself, in the manner expected of a head coach at a large state university; and other actions and omissions that subjected Grambling to investigations by the NCAA, criticism by national and local media, complaints from parents, complaints from Grambling staff members, and a demoralized football team.”
In May of 2011, a four-day jury trial was held in which the jury awarded Spears $449,500 for the remainder of his salary under the contract, $11,000 in penalty wages, and $139,000 in attorney fees. The Board appealed the ruling.
In siding with the Board, the circuit court panel of judges found, among other things, that “Spears was insubordinate to Dr. Judson, in his position as President of Grambling, made public comments that impugned the reputation of Grambling and generated unfavorable publicity, and caused the University to be investigated by the NCAA.
“In particular, after Alcorn State University sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina and expressed interest in postponing its scheduled football game against Grambling, Spears publicly made derogatory comments about Alcorn State University for wanting to postpone the game. These negative comments by Spears created bad publicity and negative attention for Grambling. When Spears was involved with drug testing the Grambling football team, he sent letters to the parents of team members, which caused concern by the Grambling administration for the privacy rights of the students. When Dr. Judson questioned Spears about the drug testing, Spears was defiant about his actions. After Spears tried to rename the Grambling training facility on his own, without authorization from either the Athletic Director, Troy Mathieu, or Dr. Judson, he was questioned about his actions and was uncooperative with the administration. Thus, we find that the Board clearly had just cause to terminate Spears from his position as head football coach at Grambling.”
The panel went on to address the intricacies of the contract and why the jury awarded too much money to Spears. As a result, it reduced the $449,500 award for the time remaining on Spears’ contract to $20,087.80, or 47 days in wages. The penalty wage award of $54,000 was reduced to $38,466. The attorney fees award of $139,000 was reduced to $34,500.00.
Melvin Spears, JR. v. Grambling State University; Ct. App. La., 1st Cir,; 2012 CA 0398, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1657; 12/17/12
Attorneys of Record: (for plaintiff) E. Wade Shows, Jeffrey K. Cody, Baton Rouge, Louisiana,. (For defendant) Charles E. Tabor, John M. Madison, Jr., Marjorie F. Amerine, Shreveport, Louisiana.
