Billy Gillispie seems to love trouble. The former University of Kentucky basketball coach has been arrested for DUI twice before. In one instance, the charges were dismissed. In the other instance, he plead to reckless driving.
Gillispie’s white 2009 Mercedes was flagged down last night by police after a 911 caller reported witnessing him “driving erratically”. Gillispie refused to take either a breathalyser or a blood test.
Gillispie claims he was merely driving home after a golfing trip. No word yet regarding where he was golfing at such a late hour.
In 2003, in his first year at the University of Texas-El Paso, Gillispie was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, according to the newspaper. The charges later were dismissed after a specially appointed prosecutor decided there was not enough evidence to suggest Gillispie, then 43, was drunk.
Gillispie was fired from his position at Kentucky on March 27, 2009. UK’s administration maintains that Gillispie’s firing was not related to the performance of Gillispie’s teams, but rather was due to an “‘incompatibility’ between the school” and Gillispie which specifically manifested itself in the former coach’s refusal to sign his contract since his hire two years earlier.
On May 27, 2009, Gillispie filed a lawsuit against the University of Kentucky Athletic Association, seeking $6 million, for breach of contract and fraud stemming from the firing. Gillispie argues that Kentucky owes him on the remaining years on the deal, punitive damages, attorney fees, and a jury trial.