Lawsuit over Oklahoma Tshirt - I don't get it...

[catknit 144]

One of the reasons I love VJ and the off-topic/p&r areas is the education I get - seriously. Therefore, when I saw this story, I thought - aha - I know how to get to the bottom of this!

What the hell is this all about? I don't get it. As best I can gather, the coach of a university football team fired a contractor for wearing a rival's tshirt???? Then, the contractor sued for breach of contract??? I can't even begin to fathom this AT ALL. Is this a thing in some parts of the country? So, if this is so earth-shattering, what do people do about, say, doctors. Do they research where their cardiologist went to undergrad???

The Bedlam rivalry is heading to the courtroom, as nearly two years after a lawsuit was initially filed, a contractor’s claim against Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is moving forward.

Back in August of 2011, Brent Loveland sued Gundy and his wife Kristen for firing him over wearing an Oklahoma baseball shirt to his first day on the job at their house in Stillwater. Loveland claims Gundy approached him said he was offending Mrs. Gundy with “that [expletive] shirt you have on.”

Gundy’s wife was later dropped from the suit, but there will be a pretrial conference on June 17. The details of Loveland’s claim, from the Tulsa World:

In the suit filed in August 2011, Brent Loveland of Choctaw seeks damages of more than $10,000 on the basis that he was fired from a construction job at Gundy’s home because he showed up wearing a University of Oklahoma baseball shirt.

Court documents state Loveland was to be paid at least $80,600 for trim installation during a 13-week period starting in March 2011. He also claims to have lost more than $30,000 in potential income because he turned down other jobs during that time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/lawsuit-against-mike-gundy-over-oklahoma-shirt-moves-150449764.html

[TBoneTX 45,266]

Words can't describe the intense sports rivalry between OU & OSU, no man. Their respective fans eat, drink, live, and die for their schools.

Mr. Loveland showed extremely poor taste, if not recklessness, in his choice of shirt.

The lawsuit is because absolutely anything, however (un)reasonable, is actionable.

[Pooky 3,781]

Words can't describe the intense sports rivalry between OU & OSU, no man. Their respective fans eat, drink, live, and die for their schools.

Mr. Loveland showed extremely poor taste, if not recklessness, in his choice of shirt.

The lawsuit is because absolutely anything, however (un)reasonable, is actionable.

And lawyers will do anything for money.

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Until you've had the misfortune of living in Texas (and it's environs), one cannot fathom the ridiculous level that adults reach on football.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Gowon

[Pooky 3,781]

Until you've had the misfortune of living in Texas (and it's environs), one cannot fathom the ridiculous level that adults reach on football.

Football? You mean the namby-pamby, sissified rugby rip-off they play here? I say, Pah!

That's not rivalry. The Old Firm derby is a rivalry. This is just handbags at 5 paces in comparison.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

So the contractor got a job for the head coach of team X. The contractor knew who his client was, and purposefully wore team Y's shirt on his first day of work. I wouldn't say it's earth shattering, but it's kind of obvious that he wanted to start something because he knew who his client was. I remember when they were building the new Yankee stadium some workers came and buried a Boston Red Sox jersey in the concrete for bad luck. They found it out but had to dig up a whole section and do it over. So whether the coach thought the contractor would do bad work on purpose or if he just didn't like it, he fired him. The client can fire his employees if he wants.

But the contractor is now suing for "unfair" firing and saying that he lost work because he was preparing for the work on the coach's house, and that he as promised money he never got (for work he never did, as far as I can tell).

Contractors are crooks. Be very careful hiring one.

Does that help at all? It's not so much about where they went to school, as far as I can tell, but it's more about purposefully wearing a shirt that would get a rise out of the coach and breaking his trust. It was a sign that the contractor was bringing the rivalry to the workplace. For the coach, it was very threatening (the action, not the fact that he may have gone to school at a rival place).

Edited June 9, 2013 by Harpa Timsah

[Darnell 8,478]

ya can't fix stupid. you can sue about it later, but for fixing? forget about it

[Ryan H 3,812]

Their respective fans eat, drink, live, and die for their schools.

one cannot fathom the ridiculous level that adults reach on football.

A case in point to the references above, I had a co-worker once encounter a couple needing directions, when he asked where they were from, they told him Alabama. My co-worker then made a reference to Bear Bryant, the couple then immediatley gave him a dirty look and sternly told him "we're Auburn fans."

I have to agree with some of the previously expressed sentiments, the contractor shouldn't have been wearing that shirt knowing the reaction it would have gotten.