Rich Rodriguez accuses ex-assistant of fabricating sexual harassment claim to extort $7.5 million

Back in January, Arizona fired coach Rich Rodriguez after details of sexual harassment and extramarital affairs surfaced.

Now, though, Rodriguez is fighting back, claiming that the allegations were part of an attempt for his former assistant to extort $7.5 million from him.

According to AZCentral.com, Rodriguez filed a legal response on Monday, which could serve as a lead-up to a lawsuit:

Rodriguez, fired in January as a lurid sex-harassment claim against him became public, accuses his ex-assistant, Melissa Wilhelmsen, of fabricating a tale of sexual harassment solely to extort $7.5 million — the same amount she now is seeking in a legal claim with the state.

Attorneys for Rodriguez on Monday submitted a legal response to a notice of claim that was filed against the coach earlier this year with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Notices of claim are often precursors to lawsuits.

Rodriguez’s response highlighted the timing of the requested payment — the day before Arizona’s bowl game — as evidence of the extortion:

“Demanding the payment the day before the Bowl Game was vicious,
cut-throat, and explainable only as the ultimate threat to extort Coach and
Mrs. Rodriguez of the $7.5 million,” the legal filing said.

This likely won’t be resolved anytime soon, but it will be interesting to see if Rodriguez ends up following a counter-suit or not.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.