At one time, Marian Washington would have settled for an apology. Now the price is $10 million.
When Washington, Kansas’ women’s basketball coach the past 22 seasons, filed a $10 million lawsuit against analyst Dick Vitale and others, it was a last resort, according to her attorney, Robert Bell.
“We have been trying to resolve this matter ever since it occurred,” Bell said by phone Friday from his office in Washington, D.C. “Our efforts have not been fruitful. She wanted at one time a simple apology, and she’s never gotten it.”
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington last October, seeks $5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages for comments made in a publication, Dick Vitale’s Basketball, prior to the 1993-94 season.
The paragraph in question, written by Women’s Basketball News Service director Joe Smith, read: “The Jayhawks are loaded with talent, with swingman Angela Aycock and guard Charisse Sampson heading the list. But coach Marian Washington usually finds a way to screw things up. This season will be no different.”
Bell said the delay in filing the suit was because he was trying to reach an out-of-court settlement.
“When this matter happened, we immediately got in touch with the other side,” Bell said. “A simple apology was what we were seeking.”
No court date has been set, but Bell said he expected one later this year.
“I don’t know when the trial date will be,” Bell said, “but the judge will probably have a hearing on some of the motions sometime this year.”
Bell said he is still seeking a settlement.
“They’ve been stonewalling it,” Bell said. “They’ve basically failed to realize they acted irresponsibly in what they’ve reported.”
Washington, who says she won’t comment further on the case, owns a 410-242 record at KU.
Bell said he has spoken “with anyone who would listen” among those named in the suit, including Vitale.
“He has done everything but apologize,” Bell said. “Dick Vitale is not a person the coach dislikes or I dislike or have any personal animosity toward. He has allowed himself to be used. All we wanted him to do was disassociate himself from the comments.”
Those comments, according to one Big Eight coach, were unfair. Kansas State coach Brian Agler said he understood Washington’s feelings.
“From what I understand,” Agler said, “she was taken advantage of from the standpoint that there wasn’t anything critical in the magazine about any other program or any other coaches. I feel like the magazine didn’t handle the situation very professionally, and I think it should have been edited a little better.”
Without the lawsuit, the magazine’s comments would likely have faded into obscurity. Now, they’re receiving renewed attention.
Nevertheless, Bell reiterated the necessity of filing the suit.
“I think the article has hurt her reputation. It has hurt,” he said. “You can always turn your back on an injustice and be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand. One person knowing about the injury is one too many.”
