Back in November, Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach / run game coordinator Sean Kugler was sent home from Mexico City, and was subsequently fired a few days later head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the organization.
The decision to send Kugler home from the game came following allegations surfaced that he inappropriately touched a female while traveling with the team.
Well earlier this week, the law firm of Shields Petitti representing Kugler, filed a request for arbitration.
The law firm's release calls the allegations made against their client as flat out false, and states that the Cardinals dismissed Kugler without a thorough investigation and without interviewing him about the alleged incident.
"The allegations against Coach Kugler are simply untrue and have caused Sean, his wife and family enormous personal and professional damage," stated Michael Petitti, Shields Petitti. "Coach and his family have been desperate to understand from the Cardinals front office and others what rationale or evidence was used to terminate him for cause."
Kugler's statement in the press release is largely what you would expect in this type of situation, but take note of the part we've decided to bold.
"Respecting women is a core value for me, and something I have instilled in my children and the players that I coach," Coach Kugler stated. "The mysterious allegations by the Cardinals are untrue, and I want to clear my name. Be it a miscommunication or mistaken identity, my family and I will cooperate fully and honestly with the NFL, Cardinals, or any other agency to get to the truth in this matter and restore my reputation. There are incredible people that work in the game – from league level to my players, fellow coaches, and incredible support staff. I simply want to get back to doing what I love, and would like my family to have peace."
Surely the intentional mention of "miscommunication or mistaken identity" was no accident. Could this be a case of mistaken identity?
Well, it's ironic that is mentioned when you look at the circumstances that followed the suit.
On December 14th, the same exact day that the Shields Petitti law firm filed the Request for Arbitration, Cardinals GM Steve Keim decides to take a leave of absence, citing health-related reasons.
Seems odd, right? Maybe it's a mere coincidence.
Looking at the below photos of Kugler and Keim side-by-side, could Kugler's mention of possible mistaken identity have some merit to it?
For what it's worth, Ian Rapoport shares the following from the Cardinals:
"As an ongoing legal matter, we are going to refrain from comment other than to say that the team is confident the process will result in a much different set of facts than those presented today and that it had good cause to terminate Mr. Kugler’s employment."
Taking the timeline mentioned account, you be the judge. Until a full, and thorough investigation into the matter happens, we won't know for sure.
Until then, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest