Because, of course.
According to SECCountry.com, Antonio “A.C.” Carter, a former Alabama wide receiver, has filed a lawsuit against new Florida Atlantic head coach and former UA offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, FAU and the state of Florida. The website writes that Carter’s “complaint... claims Kiffin deliberately misled him regarding a job on the FAU football staff in order to benefit from his family relationship with a prospect.”
The fraud suit was filed Tuesday in Shelby County, Ala.
Carter claims that he was told by Kiffin earlier this year that his hiring as assistant strength & conditioning coach for the Owls was a “done” deal. He and his wife quit their jobs based on Kiffin’s assurances and moved to the campus, where Carter subsequently helped Kiffin and the Owls in recruiting.
However, after National Signing Day, Carter was told he would not be hired as he had not passed a background check. Carter had two unspecified prior minor misdemeanor charges on his record, one of which he claimed the prosecutor refused to pursue more than seven years ago. This turn of events came after an unnamed former four-star recruit with whom Carter had a personal relationship had already signed his National Letter of Intent with FAU.
“The prospect’s family had just celebrated New Year’s Eve together with Plaintiff Antonio Carter and his family just a few weeks earlier,” the lawsuit states per SECCountry.com. “It is believed that this relationship between Plaintiff Antonio Carter and the coveted prospect was known to the coaches and defendants at the time he was hired.”
The job would’ve paid Carter, who played receiver for the Crimson Tide in the late nineties, a one-year salary of $40,000 as well as provided $4,000 for moving expenses. What type of financial damages Carter is seeking in the lawsuit wasn’t stated.