redblkwht
03-14-2009, 12:08 PM
Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin fired back at owner Al Davis on Friday night after a letter sent to the University of Tennessee by the Raiders became public.
Kiffin will give a deposition next week in his grievance against the Raiders.
Kiffin was fired in September after what Davis described as acts of insubordination and lying. Kiffin filed a grievance and is seeking two months pay for the time he was unemployed before being hired at Tennessee.
"Starting with Al Davis' nationally televised press conference publicizing the firing the head coach Lane Kiffin last fall, the Raiders have continued to attack coach Kiffin in the media," Kiffin's lawyer, Alan Loewinsohn said in a statement. "That assault continued today, long after he left the Raiders, when the Raiders issued a statement and 'leaked' a letter, a letter they wrote months ago to coach Kiffin's new employer, the University of Tennessee, in which the Raiders again attacked coach Kiffin's character.
"Starting next Tuesday at a hotel in Oakland, the Raiders will no longer be able to rely on unsupported allegations made in the media, as a key Raiders personnel, starting with Al Davis, will finally have to answer questions under oath at their depositions, a process that coach Kiffin is confident will demonstrate that he was fired by the Raiders without cause and show that the continuing assault of allegations being made against him are false."
The letter, dated Jan. 22, 2009, put the University of Tennessee administration on notice about next Tuesday. The letter, which was first published by CBS Sports, details the Raiders grievances against Kiffin and accused Kiffin of "inducing" assistant coach James Cregg to breach his Raiders contract and leave for Tennessee. The Raiders want access to Kiffin's employment agreements with the university.
There also was an allegation by the Raiders that Kiffin gave information about the team to opponents after he was terminated.
Kiffin will try to prove he was fired without cause and is owed the remainder of his contract.
Kiffin will give a deposition next week in his grievance against the Raiders.
Kiffin was fired in September after what Davis described as acts of insubordination and lying. Kiffin filed a grievance and is seeking two months pay for the time he was unemployed before being hired at Tennessee.
"Starting with Al Davis' nationally televised press conference publicizing the firing the head coach Lane Kiffin last fall, the Raiders have continued to attack coach Kiffin in the media," Kiffin's lawyer, Alan Loewinsohn said in a statement. "That assault continued today, long after he left the Raiders, when the Raiders issued a statement and 'leaked' a letter, a letter they wrote months ago to coach Kiffin's new employer, the University of Tennessee, in which the Raiders again attacked coach Kiffin's character.
"Starting next Tuesday at a hotel in Oakland, the Raiders will no longer be able to rely on unsupported allegations made in the media, as a key Raiders personnel, starting with Al Davis, will finally have to answer questions under oath at their depositions, a process that coach Kiffin is confident will demonstrate that he was fired by the Raiders without cause and show that the continuing assault of allegations being made against him are false."
The letter, dated Jan. 22, 2009, put the University of Tennessee administration on notice about next Tuesday. The letter, which was first published by CBS Sports, details the Raiders grievances against Kiffin and accused Kiffin of "inducing" assistant coach James Cregg to breach his Raiders contract and leave for Tennessee. The Raiders want access to Kiffin's employment agreements with the university.
There also was an allegation by the Raiders that Kiffin gave information about the team to opponents after he was terminated.
Kiffin will try to prove he was fired without cause and is owed the remainder of his contract.