Ex-coach's lawyers submit more arguments to federal appeals court

LITTLE ROCK (AP) A lawyer for former Razorback basketball coach Nolan Richardson argues again in a brief filed with a federal appeals court that remarks by Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles show that racial prejudice played a role in Richardson&#39;s 2002 firing.<br> <br> ``Broyles&#39; statements regarding Richardson still qualify as direct evidence of racial discrimination,&#39;&#39; Little Rock lawyer John Walker said in a brief filed last week with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis, in response to a brief filed by the university.<br> <br> Walker&#39;s latest brief was posted Monday on the appeals court&#39;s Web site. The university will now have an opportunity to respond to the latest filing by Richardson&#39;s lawyer before the appeals court decides whether it will hear oral arguments.<br> <br> No decision is expected for several months.<br> <br> Richardson is appealing a July 8 decision by U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson that dismissed Richardson&#39;s lawsuit against the University of Arkansas. Richardson&#39;s suit claimed that he was fired March 1, 2002, because he is black, and also claiming that the firing violated his free-speech rights.<br> <br> Walker argued in his latest brief that a timeline of events shows that Richardson was fired for discriminatory reasons. He contends that a decision to fire Richardson wasn&#39;t made until after the coach spoke out publicly about racial disparity in the ranks of college coaches.<br> <br> During trial of the suit in May and June of 2004, Walker argued that football coach Houston Nutt, who is white, was treated more favorably than Richardson, and that argument was repeated in the latest brief.<br> <br> Wilson&#39;s ruling, however, concluded that Richardson had a better contract than Nutt, because Richardson&#39;s was guaranteed and did not include performance incentives.<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)