Ex-Saint Aug’s coach Williams sues school, saying his firing was unlawful retaliation
George Williams, the legendary track and field coach and athletic director at Saint Augustine’s University, is suing the Raleigh university over his unexpected firing this month.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Wake County, claims Williams and other employees were unlawfully humiliated and terminated for “trying to preserve the University’s reputation and integrity.”
“The sobering reality is it appears that a cancer has infected the University’s highest leadership levels,” the lawsuit says. “...it appears that certain leaders have placed their personal interests well above those of the University, its student, its alumni and the greater community.”
Williams, a Saint Aug’s alumnus, led the HBCU’s track and field team for 43 seasons, winning 39 Division II championships, the most of any active coach, the News & Observer previously reported. The university announced that it offered Williams a lifetime appointment as Athletic Director Emeritus, but Williams turned it down.
Williams’ attorney and the lawsuit tell a different story of his firing.
University leaders discriminated against Williams based on his age and protected activity by “attempting to smear and otherwise damage his reputation, seeking to terminate (affirmatively, constructively or otherwise) his employment, and inflicting substantial emotional and other distress” upon him, according to the lawsuit.
Suit says leaders retaliated against Williams
In addition to the university, the group also named James Perry, chairman of the SAU board, Brian Boulware, a board member, and current interim President Maria Lumpkin as defendants in the lawsuit. Those individuals “dominated the Board’s and/or the University’s operations,” including personnel decisions, and “possessed substantial control” over the employment of the plaintiffs, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims they operated the university in “a bad-faith manner designed to create fear and intimidation amongst University employees” and discriminated and retaliated against employees ”who report unlawful conduct and/or refuse to engage in unlawful conduct.”
In early 2020, Williams complained about such conduct in writing to a board member, but the university did not “properly investigate” that complaint or take action, the lawsuit says. Instead, Williams faced retaliation, including threats to be fired, attempts to undermine him and fabricated reasons for pushing him out, according to the lawsuit.
On July 1, Lumpkin met with Williams and told him he would take a 50% pay cut and be removed as athletic director and that he needed to accept those terms before the meeting was over or else he would be terminated on the spot, according to the lawsuit. Williams did not accept the terms and was handed a termination letter.
The next day, the university sent out a news release with ”false, misleading and/or incomplete statements” about Williams’ firing, the lawsuit states. It also claims Lumpkin requested a report of all athletic fundraising over the last five years “to try and fabricate an after-the-fact explanation for the University’s termination decision.”
‘Personal campaigns’ against former employees
Former interim St. Aug’s President Gaddis Faulcon, former General Counsel Kyle Brazile and former Facilities & Construction Manager Clarence King are also listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which says they were also unlawfully terminated and suffered “substantial harm.”
The lawsuit argues that Faulcon, who served as SAU’s interim president beginning in March 2019, was guaranteed the position if he “served as a pawn for engaging in age discrimination and other unlawful conduct, including as it related to Coach Williams.” Faulcon repeatedly refused to do that, “despite substantial pressure and ultimatums” from Bolware, Perry and Lumpkin, so he was terminated in March 2020, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that Brazile discovered that university leaders may be engaging in unlawful conduct, including discrimination against Coach Williams, the termination of Faulcon, issues with accurately recording board minutes, the sale of a radio station, the university’s accreditation and potential misuse of government grants. Brazile reported that conduct and because of his ”’whistleblowing’ activities and refusal to participate” he was terminated, according to the lawsuit.
King, according to the lawsuit, also discovered that university leaders were “potentially misappropriating government funds” and/or violating the law through use of general contractors and construction companies. King reported that issue and was also terminated for his ”’whistleblowing’ activities and refusal to participate in unlawful conduct,” the lawsuit says.
The defendants’ actions were not related to any “legitimate business goal” and were a result of “personal campaigns” against Williams, Faulcon, Brazile and King that resulted in their termination, according to the lawsuit.
On July 6, Nicholas Sanservino, who is representing Williams and the other plaintiffs, sent letters to the university’s counsel explaining why the press statement was inaccurate and for a conversation about the defendants’ misconduct. The university had not responded to those letters by the time that the lawsuit was filed, according to the lawsuit.
Williams and the other former employees are seeking to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the defendants “intentionally and maliciously” interfering with their contracts and relationships and their “intent to cause severe emotional distress.” They are seeking relief from the university for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good-faith and fair dealing and punitive damages.
University General Counsel Damion McCullers declined to comment on the ongoing litigation Thursday.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Ex-Saint Aug’s coach Williams sues school, saying his firing was unlawful retaliation."
