Former Magic Coach Matt Guokas took the stand for nearly
five hours yesterday in the discrimination suit filed by former
employee George Scholz. Scholz has accused the Magic of firing
him to hire a black assistant coach. According to this morning's
ORLANDO SENTINEL, Guokas was "portrayed in earlier testimony as
an ally" of Scholz, but he "proved otherwise ... when he denied
some of the main claims in Scholz's discrimination lawsuit."
Guokas supported the contention of team officials that Scholz was
a scout and given the title of Assistant Coach "only as a
courtesy." Scholz had testified that Guokas could confirm his
claims that the team "plotted to fire him unjustly. Guokas did
not." But the "day was not a complete loss for Scholz,"
according to the SENTINEL's Gene Yasuda, as his attorney, Bernard
Dempsey, pointed out "several contradiction in Guokas' testimony
and challenged the accuracy of his statements." Guokas, a
commentator for NBC who is also paid by the Magic for some
broadcast work, said Scholz was allowed to sit on the bench "as a
perk," adding if he "wanted to be a cheerleader from the bench,
that was fine." Dempsey noted Guokas had said in an earlier
deposition that Scholz "had coaching duties, therefore, he was an
assistant coach." Guokas also admitted team officials asked him
if hiring a black assistant "was a good idea," but he said they
were "speaking generally." Scholz's coaching claim was
"bolstered" by former players Jeff Turner and Stanley Roberts
(ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/31).
