Kiffin Files Grievance Against Raiders For Salary
01/11/2008 04:41
ALAMEDA, Calif. - Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin filed a grievance with the NFL on Wednesday to claim the lost salary he maintains he is still owed by the team.
Kiffin was fired late last month for cause because of what owner Al Davis described as acts of insubordination and lying by his second-year coach.
Kiffin was still owed about US$2.6 million from the three-year contract that he signed in January 2007. But Davis has refused to pay, leading to the grievance. Commissioner Roger Goodell will ultimately rule on the grievance, but there was no date for a hearing scheduled.
Raiders executive John Herrera issued a statement to The Associated Press refuting Kiffin's claims, saying ''Mr. Kiffin was terminated for cause. The grievance is without merit.''
The statement says that Kiffin's grievance ''completely ignores the fact that Mr. Kiffin repeatedly made reckless statements that attacked players, assistant coaches and the owner of the team and were damaging to the Raiders organization.'' The statement also alleges that Kiffin made false statements to the media that damaged the Raiders.
The Raiders said that Kiffin's grievance did not address provisions in his contract that required him to avoid any conduct that would ''would embarrass, discredit or disgrace'' the Raiders, as well as an NFL resolution passed in April that required coaches to ''avoid actions that undermine or damage the club's reputation or operating success.''
Kiffin's agent Gary Uberstine declined to comment because of the pending litigation.
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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I’m sorry folks, but after witnessing some of the shenanigans of Raiders’ owner Al Davis over the years, I hope Kiffin wins his grievance. This is precisely the reason Davis was trying to force Kiffin to resign, so he wouldn’t have to fire him and pay him the remaining salary he was owed under his contract.