Civil jury finds Penders not guilty

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Former University of Texas basketball coach Tom Penders was not guilty of defaming assistant coach Eddie Oran, according to a ruling by a civil lawsuit jury.

The 12-member panel deliberated over two days in the case. Ten of them sided with Penders, the number needed in a civil case to render a majority ruling.

The panel said that Penders is not responsible for Oran's inability to find similar employment. Oran has been unemployed since Penders left UT in April 1998 after accepting a $900,000 buyout.

The dispute began after the grades of former UT star basketball player Luke Axtell were faxed to an Austin radio station. Penders had suspended Axtell, who had talked about transferring, for poor grades.

Eventually, the 6-9 Axtell transferred to Kansas to finish his college career.

Penders maintained that he had nothing to do with the release of the information, which is considered private under federal law. Oran initially took responsibility for the grade release, but he later said he was taking the blame for his boss.

But despite the ruling, a member of the jury told reporters that Penders did indeed have a role in the faxing of Axtell's grades.

"Definitely," said Denise Burks, one of the jurors who did not agree with the majority. "But that was not an issue. The issue was, was he defamed? We can't consider any other evidence."

Penders, now retired after a stint at George Washington University in the nation's capital, said he got the verdict he expected.

"I spent 30 years as a head college coach and nobody except my opponents and the people that we beat ever questioned my integrity," Penders said. "I knew the truth all along and I have stayed with that truth. It's the only thing I knew, and that's why I was not nervous at all about the outcome."

Meanwhile, according to the Austin American-Stateman, Axtell reached an out-of-court settlement this week in his lawsuit against Penders and UT Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds.

Patricia Ohlendorf, the school's Vice President for Legal Affairs, said the university made no admission of liability, but will pay for Axtell to finish his degree at Texas, five semesters at a cost of $5,000 a semester. The school also agreed to pay $7,500 to cover his lawyer's expenses.

Axtell and his family filed suit against the parent company of the radio station that broadcasted his grades. The amount of the settlement was not made public.

"I appreciate the diligence of the court and the jurors and accept their findings," Oran said in a prepared statement. "I am confident that the public can now see the full spectrum of events as they occurred."