Sarkisian, 41, lost his job in October due to some unbecoming behavior that seemed to stem from alcohol abuse.
Advertisement
According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Sarkisian alleges that the university fired him without accommodating his efforts to seek treatment for his “disability”.
TMZ reports that Sarkisian is suing the school for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith, failure to accommodate, discrimination on the basis of disability, retaliation, violation of confidentiality of medical info, and possibly more.
TMZ is reporting that Sarkisian is looking for $30 million in damages from his dismissal earlier this fall.
According to the TMZ report, Sarkisian is claiming he was unfairly fired and says USC broke the law by firing someone with a disability. In the meantime, Sarkisian will look to show he is sober and will attempt to find another coaching position in the near future.
At question is how much USC knew about and whether alcoholism is covered under California’s disability act.
“So firing somebody because of that disability is against the law”, he said.
In August, Sarkisian had an incident at a USC booster event where he appeared to be intoxicated. Schad clarified that Sarkisian’s lawsuit is regarding breach of contract.
Advertisement
USC athletic director Pat Haden said he attempted to reach Sarkisian by phone, but that the coach was traveling to an out-of-state treatment facility. He previously was the head coach at Washington from 2009-2013.
