Reggie Barlow Talks About Lawsuit Against Alabama State University
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Former Alabama State University Head Football Coach Reggie Barlow is speaking out about why he is suing the university. He filed the suit yesterday, citing wrongful termination.
Reggie Barlow coached the ASU football team for eight years. He graduated from there and has invested time and money into the university. It’s why he says there’s a bad taste in his mouth with the way he was fired.
In November, Barlow signed a new three-year contract to coach the Alabama State University football team. Weeks later, that contract was rescinded and Barlow found himself out of a job.
“You sign a binding contract, I started receiving pay on it,” he says. “And then all of a sudden, there were things that happened that made people change their minds on it.”
Barlow says he’s still not sure what made university officials change their minds.
“You hate to think that it’s just personal stuff. But if you look at the wins and losses, if you look at the things that we’ve done in the community, there was no real reason to pull the switch on us as a coach. It wasn’t like we put a knife to any football players throats or anything.”
It’s why he’s chosen to sue the university. Barlow says he wanted to resolve the matter out of court but says the leadership at ASU weren’t responsive. Now, he’s seeking more than 500 thousand dollars, the amount his rescinded contract was worth.
“I never in a million years would have thought I would be in a situation where I would have to fight against my university.”
In the lawsuit, Barlow claims that President Gwendolyn Boyd and Interim Athletic Director Melvin Hines lack experience and aren’t qualified to be in their positions.
“The problem is, you have Dr. Boyd, who is a first time president and then you have a guy whose been the interim athletic director for three years and that says that we don’t have much confidence in you if you’re going to be the interim athletic director for three years.”
And ASU has found itself in controversy again with new football coach Brian Jenkins, who’s being accused of bullying athletes and NCAA rule violations.
“You hear things in the coaching profession but I think we all should just kind of hold out and see whether or not it’s true or not.”
On top of the 516 thousand dollars, Barlow and his attorney Don Jackson are also seeking punitive damages. Alabama News Network has reached out to ASU and have yet to hear back from anyone at the university about the lawsuit.
For the complete unedited interview with Reggie Barlow, click here
