Fired coach sues Loyola

The attorney of former head men's lacrosse coach Bill Dirrigl, who is suing the College for wrongful termination, said last week that she expects the process to proceed at the normal pace of litigation.

Dirrigl was fired from his position in December 2005 after "the College had lost confidence in Mr. Dirrigl's ability to lead the program," according to a statement. Dirrigl is seeking $3.5 million in damages from the College for breach of contract and defamation.

Kathryn Goldman, Dirrigl's attorney, declined to comment on the facts of the case, or the timing of his lawsuit.

Dirrigl filed his lawsuit in the middle of lacrosse season, during the week prior to Loyola's game against Rutgers University, where Dirrigl coached before to coming to Loyola.

Goldman also declined to comment on whether or not she expected Loyola to settle the case out of court. A trial by jury is requested in this lawsuit.

Members of the team have expressed confusion over the situation, though they maintain it has not affected them directly.

"It hasn't really been a distraction for us," one player said. "Most of the guys on the team just feel bad for Coach Toomey, because he has had to deal with so much of this and he has kept it away from us. That is his pro-fessionalism, though. It's the way he is."

The College con-tinues to deny any wrongdoing and does not believe there is any basis for the lawsuit.

According to documents obtained from the Baltimore City Circuit Court, Dirrigl claims that Loyola College President Brian Linnane and current coach Charley Toomey repeatedly and wrongfully spread rumors that Dirrigl was engaged in illegal drug use. Toomey, who is also named as a defendant in the case, was an assistant coach at the time.

The documents say that Dirrigl was not using illegal drugs, but an over-the-counter inhaler called Primatene Mist for physical symptoms of stress and anxiety, after a series of personal losses and tragedies including the loss of his father, his sister's cancer diagnosis, and the birth of his daughter, who had undergone surgery to correct a birth defect.

Dirrigl did not seek medical attention for these symptoms, and used the inhaler at work both before games and during practices.

It is asserted in the documents that team captains, Craig Georgalas, Jordan Rabidou, and Steve Hess approached Toomey with concerns in November after seeing Dirrigl use the inhaler and vomiting. Toomey allegedly saw Dirrigl using the inhaler and told the team that Dirrigl was smoking marijuana.

On Nov. 18, Dirrigl met with Athletic Director, Joseph Boylan and Dean of Students, Susan Donovan. At that meeting, Dirrigl denied illegal drug use and said he would seek medical attention for his medical problems. At this time, his offer to submit a toxicology screen was declined, but this decision was reversed later that night.

That same day, Fr. Linnane, Boylan, and the assistant coaches met with the men's lacrosse team. Dirrigl claims in court doc-uments that Linnane implied Dirrigl's use of illegal drugs, and rumors of this began to spread.

Dirrigl sub-mitted a toxic-ology screen with negative results for illegal drugs on Nov. 23, and five days later, he told the College he had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

On Dec. 15, Dirrigl was terminated for conduct that impaired his effectiveness to perform his duties, although an independent investigation for illegal drug use was never conducted by the College.

The College denies all allegations set forth in Dirrigl's complaint.

"The College believes those decisions are appropriate and in the best interest of the educational needs of our student athletes," said a statement by Kelly.

Dirrigl's original contract with the College was established in 2001, and it agreed to employ Dirrigl for five years. In May, 2004, Dirrigl's contract was extended for two more years.