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Andrew Giuliani files lawsuit against Duke

Ellis Henican

July 24, 2008

Andrew Giuliani has hit a rough patch in his drive to become a pro golfer - being tossed off the Duke University golf team, his lawyers say, over "unfounded accusations" and a coach's "bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme."

But New York City's former first son is swinging back hard.

Late yesterday, his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in North Carolina, contending the university has violated its obligations to him as a student-athlete and demanding he be invited back to Duke's state-of-the-art golf-training facility.

It's obviously been a tense few months on campus.

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On Feb. 11, the lawsuit says, men's golf coach "O.D. Vincent announced to the team that he was unilaterally canceling Andrew's eligibility to participate in the University's Athletics Program immediately and indefinitely. Andrew and his teammates were shocked. Andrew had no prior notice of what was about to happen. At no time was Andrew ever given an opportunity to defend himself; instead he was summarily dismissed."

No response yet from Duke administrators. "We have not been provided a copy of the lawsuit so we are not in the position to comment," Keith Lawrence, Duke's director of media relations, said last night. Coach Vincent did not return a telephone message left at his home.

Andrew, 22, is the only son of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and broadcaster Donna Hanover. A high-spirited kid and budding sports fan when his dad was mayor, he is now entering his senior year at Duke. He was recruited by the late Rod Myers, who'd coached at Duke for 34 years. Coach Vincent arrived last summer from UCLA.

So why was Andrew suspended? That's not entirely clear.

The suit portrays a hyper-controlling coach and recounts a series of trivial-sounding incidents. That Andrew once "flipped his putter a few feet to his golf bag." That he "leaned on his driver and it broke." That Andrew drove too rapidly out of the parking lot one day.

These incidents "were a fabricated and insufficient excuse" in a "rush to shrink the size of the Men's Golf team," the lawsuit alleges. When Andrew sought reinstatement, the suit claims, the coach pressured him to sign a sweeping legal waiver and, when he refused, began turning other teammates against him.

"Andrew's suspension would become a permanent cancellation of his athletic eligibility at Duke unless every single one of his twelve teammates wrote a letter to O.D. Vincent that O.D. Vincent deemed 'satisfactory' supporting Andrew's reinstatement to the team and explaining the reasons why," the suit says.

"The only University document that is consistent with O.D. Vincent's scheme," the court documents say, "is the library's copy of William Golding's The Lord of the Flies," the 1954 novel about British boys trapped on a deserted island with disastrous consequences.

Andrew is represented by Durham, N.C., attorney Robert Ekstrand, a Duke law school lecturer and attorney for several former members of the Duke lacrosse team in a civil suit over sex-assault allegations. The suit does not ask the court to order Andrew's return to the team. It does seek unspecific monetary damages and the return of Andrew's training privileges.

As the case heads into court, Andrew's friends, fellow Duke athletes, former coaches and golf associates have written to the university, attesting to his integrity.

"A considerate, mature and honorable individual ... one of my all-time favorite young men," wrote Tony Karcich, Andrew's athletic director at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J.

"I would have loved to have had the opportunity to have had Andrew as one of my players," wrote Allan Small, longtime Seton Hall golf coach, now vice president of the Metropolitan Golf Association.

His mother, Donna Hanover, yesterday called the whole experience "heartbreaking."

"He has been a tremendously hardworking and dedicated member of the Duke golf team," she said. "We tried for many months to convince members of the Duke administration that the situation should be corrected. We're sad we now have to turn to the courts to protect Andrew's reputation and the rights of other students at Duke."

For his part, Andrew said none of this has soured him on the game he loves. He's teeing off this morning in the Stoddard Trophy Matches at the Fresh Meadows Country Club in Great Neck.

"I'm still very focused on pursuing a pro golfing career, to be the best player I can be," he said. "I look forward to a long and prosperous career as a golfer.