[SuperJon]

What was his record at VMI? Oh yeah 8-25.

That has absolutely nothing to do with him being fired. He was the best coach they had had in a long time.

[jcmanson]

Only time will tell...

[JK37]

According to the suit, Stewart dressed down a player for "high-stepping" down the sideline after intercepting a pass during an October 30, 1996 practice, telling the player it was unacceptable conduct. Stewart then told the player to avoid giving others a reason to call him by a racial slur, the suit said.

The suit said Stewart subsequently learned that the player, who was not identified in the court papers, may have misconstrued his comment, but the player opposed Stewart's suggestion of a team meeting to discuss the matter and told Stewart "the air was clear" as far as he was concerned.

Later, Stewart learned that Babb and Bunting were conducting a "secret investigation," the suit said, and Stewart was told on December 11 that his contract was being terminated immediately.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/footba ... i_lawsuit/

It all came down to the media getting ahold of this after that air had been cleared, which in essence backed Babb and Bunting into a corner of having to deal with it in this way. If you ask Stewart, he will tell you he completely understood why it had to be done, and that it was a mistake on his part that was misconstrued not only by the player, but also by the local media, who took it and ran with it pretty far.

If you've been around this guy at all and hear him talk, you can see how the intent of the statement is something he would say, but the way it was misperceived in the public is something that would never come from him.

[Cider Jim]

So what racial slur did Stewart use at VMI???

[BJWilliams]

I was reading the ESPN story and apparently he basically told the kid "don't give people a reason to call you a n*****". There was a greater context to the comment as well that apparently was lost because of the fact that he used that word.

[El Scorcho]

Really? I heard it was "Don't give people a reason to call you a n***y headed **."