Former Utah State head coach Blake Anderson is planning to file a lawsuit against his former employer for wrongful termination. This decision was announced in a news release from the law firm Bearnson & Caldwell, which is representing Anderson. The lawsuit alleges that Utah State administrators, including athletic director Diana Sabau, conducted a public smear campaign against Anderson before his termination on July 19.
Anderson was fired by Utah State after an internal investigation found that he violated Title IX policies by failing to properly report sexual misconduct. The school's investigation suggested that Anderson had inappropriately contacted the girlfriend and roommate of a football player who was accused of domestic violence. The school described this contact as a "fact-finding mission" and stated that Anderson did not allow its office of equity to investigate the situation.
UPDATE - Below is a press release prepared by my attorney to address my position moving forward and some of the concerns circulating in the media. Thank you pic.twitter.com/MUjoKTzP9p
— Blake Anderson (@CHbanderson) August 21, 2024
Anderson told ESPN he did nothing wrong in handling the matter, and his attorneys called Utah State's explanation for the firing "misinformation."
"[Utah State administration] including ... Athletic Director Diane Sabau have unfortunately chosen to level what is essentially a public smear campaign not only against Coach Anderson and others, but also against USU itself," according to the statement from Anderson's lawyers. "The public arena is typically not the preferred place for these types of disputes to be aired, but given the amount of misinformation that has been publicly stated and released by USU, and more particularly Ms. Sabau, Coach Anderson herein states publicly and with certainty that he completely denies having engaged in any wrongdoing, and looks forward to the truth and details underlying that truth being revealed through the appropriate process -- in a court of law before a selected jury of his peers."
Utah State initiated an investigation into Anderson during the summer of 2023. As a result of the investigation, deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and director of player development Austin Albrecht were fired. Anderson, who had previously worked with attorney Tom Mars, had a 70-page response to the school's allegations released on July 20.
He was about to begin his fourth season with Utah State, having led the team to an 11-3 record in 2021 and a bowl appearance in 2023. Before joining Utah State, Anderson served as head coach at Arkansas State for seven seasons, leading the team to six bowl appearances.
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