Settlement Provides GW University, Lonergan with path forward, experts say
George Washington University’s settlement with former men’s basketball head coach Mike Lonergan allows both sides to avoid a potentially harmful and drawn-out legal process, experts said.
Nearly a year after he was fired following allegations of verbal abuse from players, Lonergan and GW released a joint statement Wednesday announcing they reached an agreement “amicably.” Legal experts said the settlement – the terms of which are confidential – was the best option for both GW and the former coach to avoid an open trial, where student-athletes would need to come forward to testify and the details of the case would be open to public scrutiny.
In August, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into GW for possible violations of federal guidelines, following a Title IX complaint. Details about the complaint have not been released. Brian Sereno, an athletics department spokesman, declined to comment on whether the federal investigation factored into the decision to settle.
“The Office for Civil Rights can come in when a complaint is filed with the federal agency,” Marissa Pollick, a lecturer at the University of Michigan and sports law expert, said, “That can be done anonymously. It may be a totally separate case, so it is hard to say.”
- To find out more about this case, read the full article by Matt Cullen for the George Washington University Hatchet, www.gwhatchet.com/2017/09/18/settlement-provides-university-lonergan-with-path-forward-experts/