Hall of Fame Coach Joseph Ciampi says the Atlanta Dream owes him money.
The woman’s basketball team hired the nationally recognized Auburn University coach as an assistant in 2010 in a contract that was extended to 2015. But Ciampi says in a lawsuit filed last week in Fulton State Court that team owners pushed him aside and quit paying his salary.
His lawyer A. Lee Parks says Ciampi got cut when a new head coach joined the team but the team won’t pay the remaining months on the $100,000-a-year contract.
Ciampi is perplexed by the team’s intransigence, Parks said.
“It is not that much money,” Parks said. “We said, Why did you fire him? And it was, ‘We’ll get back to you.’ If they had a ‘for-cause reason’ they would have said.
The team did not want to explain when contacted by The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“The Dream is appreciative of Mr. Ciampi’s contributions to women’s basketball and his accomplishments on and off the court during his career,” said the team’s attorney David Brown in an email. “However, we strongly disagree with the allegations made by Mr. Ciampi in his lawsuit and will defend this action vigorously.
As you know, given the pending litigation, I cannot comment any further.”
Ciampi, a legendary coach in the world of women’s basketball, spent 25 years at Auburn, leading the Tigers to three straight appearances in the NCAA championship game from 1988 to 1990, according to the Auburn University website.
Head coach Michael Cooper brought in his own assistant coaches, replacing those under Coach Fred Williams, in 2014, according to the team website.
The team hasn’t paid Ciampi for a year, Parks said.
Ciampi, who retired from Auburn was hired largely for recruiting because of his contacts among college basketball coaches, Parks said. He entered the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
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