ORLANDO, Fla. — The former defensive coordinator for the University of Central Florida's football team is making claims that head coach George O'Leary made racist comments about his players, among other serious allegations.
According to USA Today, Paul Ferraro said O'Leary used a derogatory word for African-Americans and called the NFL "one big Ru-Ru tribe."
Ferraro filed the breach of contract lawsuit on Friday in Orange County.
Reports said Ferraro, who worked with O'Leary twice before at Georgia Tech and Syracuse, was hired in December but left a short time later.
However, Ferraro's 20-page suit claims the university forced him to resign a few months into his two-year, $220,000 contract.
Ferraro's lawsuit says O'Leary "created a work environment that was permeated by bullying, threatening behavior and repeated discriminatory epithets..."
Ferraro's lawsuit alleges O'Leary also said, "Check the (black) players to make sure that their gums are blue, because they are bigger, faster and stronger than (black) players with red gums."
Ferraro is suing UCF's board and its athletic association.
"If there are witnesses or a videotape of this alleged conduct, then O'Leary is going to have problems," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
UCF Vice President for Communications and Marketing Grant J. Heston released the following statement:
"UCF immediately investigated the allegations Mr. Ferraro made when he abruptly abandoned his job. The university's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office found the allegations to be untrue.
"None of the individuals alleged to have been the subject of, or to have overhead, these supposed statements corroborated Mr. Ferraro's claims. In fact, until seeking compensation after abandoning his job, it does not appear he ever discussed this with anyone at UCF.
"UCF is an inclusive and diverse institution and our investigation shows that these claims are without merit."
WFTV
