A former assistant under George O’Leary at UCF filed a breach of contract lawsuit Friday containing some scathing allegations against the longtime Knights head coach.
According to USA Today, Paul Ferraro, who was hired as the team’s defensive coordinator in December before leaving prior to spring practice, alleges in the suit that O’Leary “used a derogatory word for African-Americans and called the NFL ‘one big ‘Ru-Ru tribe.’” Additionally, the suit alleges that O’Leary “once advised coaches to check African-American players ‘to make sure their gums are blue, because they are bigger, faster and stronger than (African-American players) with red gums.’”
These allegations are apart of a lawsuit that says Ferraro was fired “without cause” and asks for “damages in excess of $15,000, including unpaid wages” from the two-year contract for $220,000 annually Ferraro signed in December.
UCF, via a statement to USA Today from Grant Heston, the school’s vice president for communications and marketing, is denying the allegations.
“UCF is an inclusive and diverse institution and our investigation shows that these claims are without merit. UCF immediately investigated the allegations Mr. Ferraro made when he abruptly abandoned his job. The university’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office found the allegations to be untrue. None of the individuals alleged to have been the subject of, or to have overheard, these supposed statements corroborated Mr. Ferraro’s claims. In fact, until seeking compensation after abandoning his job, it does not appear he ever discussed this with anyone at UCF.”
Ferraro claimed that O’Leary called him “a ‘Guinea’” and also alleges in the suit that O’Leary “created a work environment that was permeated by bullying, threatening behavior, and repeated discriminatory epithets by O’Leary.”
“No longer will I put up with your constant verbal abuse of both our coaching and support staff,” Ferraro said in an email to O’Leary dated February 25, according to the suit. “Threatening coaches on a regular basis with their jobs and racial slurs mixed in to make a point is wrong.”
The next day, according to the suit, UCF athletics director Todd Stansbury sent a letter that read:
“As your actions show that you have no intent to return to your post as Defensive Coordinator of the Football program, we are accepting these actions as your 14 day notice of resignation from UCF Athletics.”
Ferraro says he never resigned and instead “wanted to return to work in an environment free from O’Leary’s bullish and discriminatory tactics.”
When Ferraro left, O’Leary said it was for “personal reasons.”
Before taking the job at UCF in December, Ferraro was defensive coordinator for Maine and also had stops as an assistant at Rutgers, Bowling Green and Georgia Tech. His two seasons with Georgia Tech were on O’Leary’s staff with the Yellow Jackets in 1999 and 2000.
Ferraro returned to Maine as defensive coordinator on March 29.
For more UCF news, visit UCFSports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
