Sarkisian sued for breach of contract and discrimination based on disability, alleging that the school fired him instead of allowing him to seek treatment for alcoholism.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former USC head football coach Steve Sarkisian has lost a $30 million lawsuit that claimed he was improperly fired by the school instead of being allowed to seek treatment for alcoholism.
In a statement Monday, Sarkisian said he was "disappointed in the decision, but we will respect it and move on."
Former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian has filed a lawsuit against the school for the way it handled his embarrassing exit from the program earlier this season.
Weeks later on Oct. 12, Haden fired Sarkisian for violating the terms of the program after he reportedly arrived for team meetings intoxicated on a Sunday morning, though according to Sarkisian's complaint, he was not drunk. Haden's directive included a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol use.
A Los Angeles Times report documented Sarkisian's alleged history with alcohol at his previous head coaching job at Washington. Sarkisian reportedly went to an alcohol rehab facility after his termination.
Nowadays, some have changed the definition slightly from a “disease” to a “disorder” but that’s only a minor shift in wording and meaning. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines it in this way: “Problem drinking that becomes severe is given the medical diagnosis of ‘alcohol use disorder’ or AUD.
Here’s where the theory that alcoholism is a disorder (or disease as Alcoholics Anonymous claims) breaks down: is it the person’s fault that they have a disorder and can they be held responsible for their choices? If it is simply a behavioral choice rather than a disorder/disease, then an institution can hold a person to the standard of behavioral conduct they require.
But the reality is that people in society really don’t think of alcoholism as a disease when it comes right down to it and they are right. I have a friend who says they can’t believe it because that’s not reality.
Alcoholism is rightly termed drunkenness in the Bible because God holds man responsible for the choices and desires he/she makes from the heart. Nowhere in Scripture does God call this choice a disease so neither can we.
If it sounds like I am being harsh toward Steve Sarkisian, I am not. I wish him well in his future endeavors. I hope he remains sober so he can be the person he wants to be and be successful at his new occupation.
Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since January 2021. Sarkisian served as the head football coach at the University of Washington from 2009 to 2013, then at the University of Southern California (USC) from 2014 to 2015. He played college football as a quarterback at Brigham Young University (BYU) and professionally with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Sarkisian served as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 2017 to 2018 and at the University of Alabama from 2019 to 2020.
Sarkisian's consecutive seven-win seasons earned him the mocking nickname "Seven Win Steve ". Sarkisian would go on to win eight games in 2013 before taking the head coaching job at USC prior to Washington's bowl game .
On September 8, 2014, Sarkisian and USC athletic director Pat Haden were reprimanded by Pac-12 Conference commissioner Larry Scott for attempting "to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest" during the September 6 game with Stanford.
BYU finished the regular season with a 13–1 record, defeating Wyoming, 28–25, in the WAC Championship Game. Sarkisian passed for 4,027 yards and 33 touchdowns during the regular season. His 173.6 passer rating led the entire NCAA.
Sarkisian earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from BYU in 1997 after receiving his associate's degree in general studies from El Camino in 1994.
As a senior, Sarkisian opened BYU's 1996 season by passing for 536 yards and six touchdowns in the Cougars' 41–37 upset victory over Texas A&M in the Pigskin Classic. The 536 yards passing were the most ever by a player against Texas A&M. Sarkisian finished the game with a 46-yard touchdown pass to K. O. Kealaluhi to seal the victory.
Sarkisian played professionally for three seasons, 1997 to 1999, for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was a starter in the 1999 season, finishing with 16 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions. His team finished with a dismal 3–15 record, prompting Sarkisian to end his playing career.