FILE – In this Dec. 6, 2013, file photo, then-Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie signals to his team as associate head coach Glenn Miller looks on during the first half of Connecticut’s 95-68 victory over Maine in an NCAA college basketball game, in Hartford, Conn. Former UConn basketball coach Kevin Ollie has filed a lawsuit against former assistant Glenn Miller, contending Miller slandered him in comments to the NCAA. Miller told the governing body he had learned about an alleged $30,000 payment Ollie made to the mother of a recruit while at UConn. Ollie’s lawsuit, filed Monday, April 29, 2019, in Connecticut Superior Court, says that accusation was false and damaged his reputation. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham, File)
Kevin Ollie and a mother of a former player filed a lawsuit in Hartford Superior Court this week accusing former associate head coach Glen Miller of slander.
While being investigated by the NCAA for potential violations, Miller claimed that Ollie had arranged for a player to receive $30,000 to come to Connecticut. Stephanie Garrett, mother of Shonn Miller, a graduate transfer who played for the Huskies in 2015-16, joined Ollie in the lawsuit.
This would mean that Shonn Miller, who was part of the UConn team that won a conference championship and played in two NCAA tournament games, would have been ineligible to play. The initial allegation from Miller, coupled with Shonn Miller’s mom joining Ollie’s suit, potentially opens up a slew of trouble for Ollie and the UConn program.
The NCAA investigation began over a year ago, and many of the claims made by Miller went unsubstantiated and UConn has not received any penalties.
The lawsuit “charges that Miller, who was granted partial immunity by the NCAA in exchange for his cooperation, stated to a third party that he was going to ‘get’ Ollie who fired him following the 2016-17 season,” according to the Hartford Courant.
“Glen Miller stated to at least one other person that coach Ollie would pay and would get what’s coming to him,” Jacques Parenteau ,Ollie’s attorney, wrote in the lawsuit.
Parenteau also said that Miller referred to Ollie with an expletive and said: “I was three years away from retiring. He has ruined my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t even get a job on campus. I’m going to get him.’”
Miller is currently an assistant coach under Jim Calhoun, who coaches St. Joseph’s DIII men’s basketball program in West Hartford.
Ollie is still involved in an ongoing lawsuit with the university, who fired Ollie for “just cause” in 2018 after two losing seasons. Ollie also accused UConn of racial discrimination when Ollie, who is black, was fired for his losing seasons and Calhoun, who is white, was never let go by the university despite committing NCAA violations. The discrimination claim was dismissed, but Ollie has since appealed to a higher court.
Stephanie Sheehan is the managing editor for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.sheehan@uconn.edu. She tweets @steph_sheehan.
