Leavitt wants USF job back, says incident was 'misreported'

Jim Leavitt looked dapper in his dark suit. He sounded as fiery as ever.

Flanked by his newly retained lawyers attorneys Monday, the University of South Florida's first and only football coach made his first public appearance since his firing on Friday and vowed a tenacious fight to get his job back.

True to form, Leavitt, 53, did not hold back his emotion.

"I tell our football team, 'You've got to battle adversity for what you believe in,' " said Leavitt, his perennially hoarse voice rising in intensity and volume. "You've got to stand up for what you believe in.

"That's what I'm doing. ... and I don't care how long it takes. I'm in this for my life, my name, my reputation, my family."

Leavitt again denied grabbing sophomore player Joel Miller by the neck and striking him during halftime of the Nov. 21 game against Louisville.

He professed his love for his players and, through attorneys Will Florin and Tommy Roebig, said he was fired without due process, thus violating the terms of his contract. his termination without due process violated the terms of his contract.

A news conference at Florin Roebig Law Firm on Alderman Road drew so many media members, two men in orange vests parked cars in the grass lot behind the parking lot.

Roebig said Leavitt is contesting his firing on a number of fronts, including the veracity of the allegation against him and the university's refusal to grant him a pre-termination hearing because of "emergency circumstances."

"We have learned that the emergency circumstances are recruiting efforts," Roebig said. "These are not emergency circumstances. This is a legal, contractual and fairness issue."

National Signing Day, on which high school students make binding written commitments to college programs, is Feb. 3.

USF spokesman Michael Hoad said in a statement the school stands by its review and believes thinks the reviewers, internal and external, were "fair, thorough and professional in finding that the coach crossed a line in terms of his conduct."

Leavitt's post-termination meeting was originally scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m., but Leavitt's attorneys asked for a delay. The meeting will be held Wednesday, according to Hoad.
What became clear Monday is that Leavitt won't give up easily.

Roebig attacked the USF investigation that resulted in Leavitt's firing, saying that even if the conclusions can be accepted, the "greater weight" of the evidence supports Leavitt.

"The majority of the witnesses reveal that this episode is not as it has been portrayed to be," he said. "Some of those witnesses include a Florida state trooper. It includes (strength) coach (Ron) McKeefery, who is said to be standing three feet away, and others, who have said this is not as it's portrayed."

Highway patrolman Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Benny Perez was on security detail during the game in question. In the report, Perez is paraphrased as saying he recalled Leavitt grabbing someone by the collar or jersey but not recalling which player it was.

McKeefery is quoted in the report as saying he saw Leavitt grab Miller by the chin to speak to him. McKeefery goes on to say Leavitt popped Miller's shoulder pads twice and grabbed his jersey.
Roebig also noted that the two principals in the alleged incident, Leavitt and Miller, both said it didn't happen.

Miller's teammates and his high school coach said Miller told them soon after the incident that Leavitt grabbed and struck him. Miller denied to investigators and an ESPN reporter that anything improper happened. However, his family hired high-profile attorney lawyer Barry Cohen over the weekend, and Cohen claims said Miller was only protecting Leavitt to save his job.

There are considerable financial ramifications at stake. Because Leavitt was fired for cause, USF only owes him only one-twelfth of his 2010 salary of $800,000, or $66,667.

If Leavitt's firing was without cause, he would be due 75 percent of the remainder of a seven-year, $12.6 million extension that went into effect in 2008, or about $7 million.

Leavitt was adamant Monday that he is not posturing for financial reasons. He said he was making $95,000 as an assistant at Kansas State before he took the USF job in 1996 for $75,000.

"It has never been about money," said Leavitt, who grew up in St. Petersburg and went to Dixie Hollins High School. "I've been offered jobs for a lot more money than the University of South Florida is paying me, and that's well-documented. Why did I do that? Because this is the best place for Jim Leavitt."

Suggesting USF is in position to compete for a Big East Conference championship, Leavitt said his reinstatement would be in the best interest of the program and its players.

He said he received a text message from one of those players Sunday night.

"It said, 'Coach, how can I play for another coach? We are family,' " Leavitt said. "And I texted back and said, 'Amen.'

"And I about broke when I got the text."