Blake Anderson to take legal action against Utah State after being 'wrongfully' terminated
Last month, former Utah State head coach Blake Anderson was fired for failing to comply with Title IX and not properly reporting a case regarding domestic violence that resulted in one of his player’s arrest.
Anderson has since responded to the Aggies’ intent to fire him, but has now decided to file a formal lawsuit against Utah State. His attorney has prepared a press release to “address my position moving forward and some of the concerns circulating in the media,” he wrote on X.
The release states that Andereson is preparing to file a suit after “USU unexpectedly and wrongfully terminated his position.” He will be represented locally by Bearnson & Caldwell LLC, who are preparing a complaint for breach of contract and other alleged wrongful acts taken by the university.
“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,” part of the release reads. Coach Anderson also notes that the longer certain individuals at USU choose to drag this matter out, failing to publicly take accountability for their breach of his contract, the more damage accrues to USU’s reputation and also to Coach Anderson, whose career has been substantially harmed
“Coach Anderson, as a husband, father, coach, and leader, does not condone any type of abuse whatsoever and has always been the first to step m to prevent those behaviors and enforce accountability when these issues have arisen. Coach Anderson followed all of the proper reporting processes during his time at USU and throughout his lengthy coaching career, and has always complied with Title IX and all University policies as trained by USU and every other University where he has coached.”
The release also targets newly appointed Athletic Director Diana Sabau, who is alleged to have “unfortunately chosen to lead what is essentially a public smear campaign, not only against Coach Anderson and others, but also against USU itself.”
Anderson’s attorney argued that issues of this magnitude should not be aired publicly and states that “misinformation” on the case was given out to the public by Sabau after the case came to light.
Deputy athletic director for external affairs Jerry Bovee, director of player development Austin Albrecht and executive associate athletics director for internal affairs/senior woman administrator Amy Crosbie were all relieved of their duties as a result of the situation as well.
Blake Anderson pieced together a 23-17 record during three seasons at Utah State, including winning one Mountain West Championship during his tenure. He previously served at Arkansas State, where the Red Wolves went 51-37 across six seasons there.