Former University of Arizona football coach Rich Rodriguez says that a former employee attempted to extort $7.5 million from him.
Rodriguez claims that the employee, Melissa Wilhelmsen, and her lawyer threatened to go public with claims of sexual harassment if Rodriguez didnāt pay, according to The Arizona Republic. Rodriguez further claims the allegations are untrue.
Wilhemsen, who worked as Rodriguezās assistant, is now seeking $7.5 million in a legal claim with the state.
The version of events outlined by Rodriguezās attorneys in response to Wilhemsenās legal claim paints a picture of what they call an āextortion attemptā that ādragged on for six weeks.ā
Wilhemsenās lawyer, Augustine Jimenez, reached out to the coachās attorney in early November with three allegations of sexual harassment. Jimenez said in follow-up emails that it would take āmultiple million dollarsā to resolve the issue.
These communications continued until Jimenez ultimately presented a demand for the $7.5 million and set a deadline of Dec. 26 for payment ā the day prior to Arizonaās bowl game.
Rodriguezās lawyers alerted authorities, including the university, the FBI and the U.S. Attorneyās office, of what they claimed was an extortion attempt.
The Arizona Republic describes the latest move by Rodriguez's legal team as an attempt to clear the coachās name.
Rodriguez was fired in January, at which time the university said its own investigation didnāt substantiate Wilhelmsenās claims of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, but did turn up information that ācaused it to be concerned with the direction and climate of the football program.ā