Jeremy Pruitt sues NCAA: Ex-Tennessee coach alleges he was ‘sacrificial lamb,’ claims $100M in lost wages

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Former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday claiming that the association “conspired” with the University of Tennessee and other parties to make Pruitt a “sacrificial lamb” in an investigation into recruiting violations, according to a DeKalb County, Alabama, court filing obtained by Yahoo Sports. Pruitt is claiming $100 million in lost wages as a result of the process. 

“With a direct financial stake in the outcome, and in the face of a glaring conflict of interest, the NCAA empowered the University of Tennessee to use its own attorneys to investigate the University, including Pruitt, and to determine the scope of the investigation into alleged rules violations during Coach Pruitt’s tenure as head coach,” the filing reads. “UT had a vested interest in the pre-determined outcome of the one-sided ‘investigation,’ so that it could justify its failure to pay Jeremy the millions of dollars due under his buyout and other incentives stipulated in his contract.” 

The filing asserts that the NCAA did not give Pruitt proper due process during its investigation and subsequent hearing. It also claims that, in 2023, the NCAA applied rules against Pruitt that were made null by a 2021 United States Supreme Court ruling that allows players to profit off of their name, image and likeness. 

Pruitt was fired in January 2021 after an internal investigation found evidence of recruiting violations committed by Pruitt and his coaching staff. In July 2023, the NCAA Committee on Infractions found the program responsible for more than 200 individual…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jeremy-pruitt-sues-ncaa-ex-tennessee-coach-alleges-he-was-sacrificial-lamb-claims-100m-in-lost-wages/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-03-27 19:10:00

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