Ex-Hawaii college basketball coach Gib Arnold was fired ‘without cause’ back on Oct. 28, 2014, and now some of the “causes” may be coming to light.
Hawaii has filed a lawsuit against Arnold, accusing him of fraud and negligence and is seeking “undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages”. Sports Illustrated has the full details:
Hawaii says Arnold failed to report NCAA violations as required under his contract during his four seasons at the school and claims that Arnold failed to use a travel advance to pay for the team’s stay at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas in 2012 for Hawaii’s game against UNLV in November.
The NCAA issued a Notice of Allegations in January, charging the school with three Level I and four Level II violations, accusing Arnold of obstructing an investigation or attempting to conceal violations and influencing basketball staff members to “furnish to the institution false or misleading information or to conceal information.”
According to court documents, Arnold was given $2,345 to cover the team’s stay at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. However, The Palms has reported that it never received payment, and still to this day remains outstanding.
Arnold was reportedly asked for proof of payment twice, but neither he nor his attorney have responded to the school.
Arnold is maintaining he was fired unjustly and is demanding double the amount of damages he was to be paid when he was fired last fall. The school paid Arnold $148,545, 30 days after his last day of employment on Jan. 26, 2015, per his contract.
[h/t SI]