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New Mexico rejects settlement offer

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico President David Schmidly said Wednesday an attorney representing an assistant football coach sent a letter offering “continued media silence” for a $500,000 settlement in a dispute with head football coach Mike Locksley.
Schmidly said the overture was rejected.
“I outright refused it,” Schmidly said during a news conference. “I turned the letter over to our legal staff and told them the answer is no.”
Julian Haffner, a lawyer in Bethesda, Md., who is representing receivers coach J.B. Gerald, didn’t immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.
Gerald, who claims he was punched and choked by Locksley, made his first public comments about the dispute during an interview broadcast last week by ESPN. Schmidly said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Gerald files a civil lawsuit against the university.
Later, administrators released a Nov. 3 letter to Haffner in which university lawyers expressed concern that Haffner tried to speak to other New Mexico assistants without the school’s permission.
After weeks of criticism about the Locksley mess, administrators gathered reporters Wednesday on campus to clarify their version of events since the Sept. 20 altercation.
Gerald said he suffered a split lip when Locksley, a former Illinois assistant coach, struck him. Locksley admitted grabbing Gerald’s collar but maintains he never threw a punch.
The latest developments changed nothing for Locksley, who last month served a 10-day suspension for his role in the altercation. Athletic director Paul Krebs said the coach will enter an anger management program after the season.
“Coach Locksley’s behavior surrounding an argument with a member of his staff was wrong, plain and simple,” Schmidly said. “He has painted this university, the athletic department, Lobo football and himself in an extremely poor light.”