http://www.nypost.com/seven/07242008/news/nationalnews/rudy_giulianis_son_sues_duke_after_being_121354.htm
RUDY GIULIANI'S SON SUES DUKE AFTER BEING KICKED OFF GOLF TEAM
Post Staff Re****t
July 24, 2008
Rudy Giuliani's son is suing Duke University and the men's golf coach
after being kicked off the team.
Andrew Giuliani, a senior, claims in a lawsuit that he was wrongfully
kicked off the team in February.
The lawsuit says that Giuliani, the former New York mayor's son with
Donna Hanover, was kicked off the team without any warning, and it
interfered with the student's chances of being a professional golfer.
"[Men's golf coach] O.D. Vincent announced to the team that he was
unilaterally canceling Andrew's eligibility to participate in the
University's Athletics Program immediately and indefinitely. Andrew
and his teammates were shocked. Andrew had no prior notice of what was
about to happen. At no time was Andrew ever given an op****tunity to
defend himself; instead he was summarily dismissed," the lawsuit read.
"This has been heartbreaking," Hanover said in a statement. "We tried
for many months to convince members of the Duke administration that
this situation should be corrected and we are sad that we have now had
to turn to the court."
The coach said Giuliani "flipped his putter a few feet to his golf
bag" and drove fast while leaving a golf course parking lot, according
to the lawsuit. Giuliani also was accused of playing a team football
game harder than the other players liked and of being disrespectful to
a trainer.
The only way Giuliani can get back on the team, the suit contends, is
with written letters of sup****t from each team member. The suit claims
these were "unique parameters" created to keep Giuliani off the team.
"Andrew's suspension would become a permanent cancellation of his
athletic eligibility at Duke unless every single one of his twelve
teammates wrote a letter to O.D. Vincent that O.D. Vincent deemed
'satisfactory' sup****ting Andrew's reinstatement to the team and
explaining the reasons why," the suit said.
"The only University do***ent that is consistent with O.D. Vincent's
scheme," the court do***ents say, "is the library's copy of William
Golding's The Lord of the Flies," the 1954 novel about British boys
trapped on a deserted island with disastrous consequences.
The suit also alleges that coach O.D. Vincent strong armed other team
members to not sup****t Giuliani's return by threatening to kick them
off the team also.
"It was plainly obvious to each team member that their own personal
interests were directly in conflict with Andrew's reinstatement to the
team," the suit reads. "They feared that O.D. Vincent could
unilaterally dismiss them from the team without warning or notice."
Andrew Giuliani told Newsday his father is not involved in the
lawsuit.
"I love my father very much," Andrew said. "I just decided not to ask
him to get involved in the situation."
Duke University spokesman Keith Lawrence said today the university was
discussing the lawsuit but didn't have an immediate comment.
The 198-page lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by
Durham attorney Robert Ekstrand. Ekstrand did not immediately return a
message for comment.
With AP
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