CINCINNATI, April 20 (UPI) -- University of Mississippi basketball Coach Andy Kennedy pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Cincinnati Monday for insulting and striking a taxi cab driver.
Kennedy, 41, who had previously denied the accusations, admitted he used racial slurs toward Cincinnati cabbie Mohamed Moctar Jiddou, 25, and hit him in the face Dec. 18, the night before his team was to play a game, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Kennedy, who previously had coached at the University of Cincinnati, apologized "for any role that I may have played in this unfortunate situation."
The coach was fined $100, given six months probation and ordered to serve 40 hours of community service.
William Armstrong, 31, director of operations for the University of Mississippi, also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct Monday in the same incident. He was issued a $100 fine and ordered to pay $94 in court costs.
Kennedy, Armstrong and three other members of the school's athletic program got into a dispute with Jiddou about all of them sharing one taxi, the newspaper said.
A Cincinnati police cruiser camera caught Kennedy trying to talk police out of arresting him.
"Sir, you don't understand what this is going to do nationally," Kennedy could be heard telling the officer. "I'm the head coach of Ole Miss."
