Former University of Kansas head football coach David Beaty has filed a lawsuit against Kansas Athletics, the school’s athletic department, alleging a breach of contract and unpaid wages owed to him since his November 2018 termination.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, claims that the school’s athletic department violated Beaty’s contract by withholding $3 million in wages owed to him.
Beaty, who signed a multi-year contract with the school in 2015, was fired before the completion of his term. However, based on stipulations within his contract, he was guaranteed a $3 million payout if he was terminated without cause.
The filings by attorneys at Texas-based Deans & Lyons, LLP, and Kansas City-based Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin PC, allege the school of trying to find cause for Beaty’s firing, such as “a dead hooker in [his] closet,” to avoid the payout. The findings also allege the school of beginning an investigation into violations of NCAA rules by Beaty to delay the payments owed to him.
“Ever since the season concluded, Kansas Athletics has moved the goal posts on Coach Beaty,” Michael Lyons, co-founder of Deans & Lyons firm, said in a statement. “Kansas Athletics can’t walk back its decision to terminate Coach Beaty without cause after confirming it publicly, privately, and in writing.”
Meanwhile, the school has denied the accusations made in the lawsuit and has classified the various claims as “factual misstatements”.
In response to the lawsuit, associate athletics director Jim Marchiony said that his staff learned about the NCAA violations committed by Beaty during the standard exit interviews of all football coaches and staff conducted at the end of the 2018 season.
“KU contacted the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference and began an investigation into the matter. Beaty refused to cooperate with the KU review and, ultimately, the NCAA took the lead in the still-ongoing investigation,” Marchiony said.
“Due to the nature of the allegations, which, if true, would be in violation of the terms of Beaty’s contract, the university has withheld payment of money owed to Beaty pending the outcome of the NCAA investigation. In a show of good faith, the university has placed the full amount owed in escrow.”
