Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A Legal Jungle For The LSU Tigers?

Pokey Chatman will not go quietly, and this is not good news for LSU -- but it may clear up for us what parts of the allegations against her regarding an affair with a player are substance and what are fiction.

Attorney Mary Olive Pierson says Chatman wants to be compensated for the remaining years of her contract, and says her client was forced out -- made to sign a letter of resignation in two hours. Also at issue is whether the school had a policy regarding coach-player relationships (Chatman's camp alleges there wasn't, and she wouldn't have resigned if her attorney knew there hadn't been one.)

That kind of belies that Chatman was involved in some form of inappropriate relationship, but what we know and don't know about the accusations leveled by assistant Carla Berry, also viewed in light of Berry's departure from LSU, raise more questions about the inquiry and the process than they provide answers. However, does anyone think that with the accusations of an inappropriate affair hanging over her, that she would be hired again? There are male coaches that get involved with former players, but this is a double standard on the part of officials that will give those looking at Chatman pause when it comes to hiring.

A final note: not even a week after the dismissal of the charges of the Duke rape case and "Nifong" is already being used as a pejorative.

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