Tarkanian Again Charges Conspiracy by NCAA

Jerry Tarkanian, coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, filed suit in Nevada state court, charging anew that the NCAA conspired to drive him from college coaching.

The state lawsuit mirrors one that Tarkanian, the former basketball coach at Nevada Las Vegas, filed in U.S. District Court last December. That federal suit was filed when the NCAA sought to overturn a Nevada law requiring that the NCAA be forced to provide due process in any disciplinary actions within the state.

Last June, U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben sided with the NCAA and struck down the state law. Tarkanian’s lawyers then withdrew their suit from federal court.

Tarkanian’s attorney, Chuck Thompson, filed the 63-page lawsuit in state court Monday. In the suit, Tarkanian charged that the NCAA, over a 20-year period, caused emotional and financial harm to Tarkanian and his wife, Lois. The suit also charges that the NCAA damaged Tarkanian’s reputation.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a deal that will send Steve Kerr to the Orlando Magic for Chris Corchiani and a second-round draft pick, the Orlando Sentinel reported.