USC fired Steve Sarkisian back in 2015 after his struggles with alcohol abuse became a public embarrassment for the university, and the former head football coach responded by suing for wrongful termination. Nearly three years later, Sarkisian has officially lost the case.
Sarkisian filed a $30 million lawsuit against USC claiming the school knew about his alcoholism and still fired him, which caused him mental anguish. He was seeking $30 million, which included the $12.6 million left on his contract. According to TMZ, an arbitrator recently sided with USC and ruled that the school does not owe Sarkisian a dime.
An arbitrator reportedly denied all of Sarkisian’s claims, noting that the 44-year-old was “not terminated on the basis of any disability” and was guilty of misconduct and a breach of his contract. As part of their argument, USC officials pointed to the fact that they wanted Sark to seek treatment for alcoholism after he got drunk at a team event and embarrassed the program. Sarkisian’s response was that he did not have an alcohol abuse problem but instead had a bad reaction after mixing his prescription medication with alcohol.
Documents obtained by TMZ showed that an arbitrator ruled “Sakisian must bear sole responsibility for having actively concealed from USC his claimed disabilities.”
While Sarkisian will not be getting any additional money from USC, indications are that he has his drinking problem under control and has turned things around. His alcohol issues reportedly went back quite a few years, but he is entering his second season as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and still has a great coaching job.
