Lotief fired as Ragin’ Cajuns softball coach

LAFAYETTE — Michael Lotief lightened the somber mood inside the cramped room with a joke.

The longtime Louisiana-Lafayette softball coach sat in the offices of his lawyer surrounded by more than a dozen players, his wife, and his coaching staff on Wednesday afternoon. Everyone was packed into the small room for a press conference but instead of celebrating yet another one of the program’s achievements, those in attendance were there to hear from the man who was fired by the university just a few hours earlier in the day. 

After opening statements from his two lawyers, Lotief got up and moved one of the television stations microphones and quipped, “I want everyone to see my beautiful trach.” Lotief has battled throat cancer for more than three decades and is forced to use a tracheal tube to breathe. 

Lotief’s joke seemed perfectly suited for a surreal moment for the coach and the Ragin’ Cajuns softball team. Earlier on Wednesday, the university issued a statement announcing Lotion’s dismissal which read:

“Following complaints of students and a staff member of the Louisiana Athletics department, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has terminated head softball coach Michael Lotief, effective immediately.

Lotief violated University and UL System policies by subjecting student-athletes and coworkers to violent, vulgar language and verbal and physical assault, creating a hostile learning and working environment. 

“Behavior of this nature will not be tolerated,” University President Dr. Joseph Savoie said. “I want to commend the students for coming forward. They exemplified great courage in sharing their stories.”

A national search for a new head softball coach will begin immediately, according to director of Louisiana Athletics Dr. Bryan Maggard.”

Lotief addressed those claims by his former employer head on.

Regarding the claims of physical assault, the slim Lotief inspired laughter as he started off by flexing his muscles a few times and said, “I don’t work out. This is all natural.”

After the laughs subsided Lotief got serious, stating, “I have never been involved in a physical confrontation in my life. The last three years of my life having the trach to help me breathe, and of course having the tube in my stomach (which Lotief pulled up his shirt and pointed to) it prevents me from physical confrontation.”

Lotief did speak about an incident that could have been construed by the university as an assault, an incident between himself and a strength coach (who Lotief described as twice his size), and who he poked in the shoulder with his finger. 

“It seems like a very liberal use of the English language,” Lotief said. “You take a poke and turn that into a physical assault?”

Lotion’s former Ragin’ Cajun players also laughed when their former coach was asked about the accusations of verbal assault. 

“Language is always done in context,” Lotief said. “When all these young ladies and their families come into this program we talk about when you cross the line that you are able to bring out your most competitive personality. So when you are in church you can’t be your most competitive personality, when you are at the dinner table you can’t be your most competitive personality, when you are on a bus ride you can’t be your most competitive personality. But in between this lines and when you are competing, we give each other permission to be our most competitive personality.

“I am not an angel and I am not a saint,” Lotief added. “When I get on the field sometimes I have a loose tongue. To take that and make it into something vulgar and hostile that is a reach, that is stretch and that is a lie.”

Lotief’s attorney John “Jack” E. McElligott Jr. didn’t waste any time about his displeasure of what occurred on Wednesday.

“I must say I read the statement release by the university this afternoon and I must say that I am really shocked and amazed how completely false, misleading and slanderous that statement is to Coach Lotief and his family,” McElligott said. “More importantly the ladies who make up the Cajun softball program.”

Later in the afternoon, the university sent out a second release about the immediate dismissal of assistant coach Chris Malveaux and video coordinator Kate Malveaux, thus cleaning house of the coach and his staff that had brought so much success to the university’s softball program.

Lotief joined the program as a volunteer coach in 2001, before becoming co-head coach with his wife Stefni from 2002-2012, and then took over as the sole coach the year after. Lotief went 729-174 at the helm and he had led the Cajuns to five straight NCAA Super Regionals between 2012 and 2016, claimed seven NCAA Regional titles, made three trips to the Women’s College World Series (2003, 2008, 2014), routinely had his teams nationally ranked and won a dozen Sun Belt Conference tournament titles.

“What I am most proud of is what they announced I am being fired for,” Lotief said. “The environment that was created. Proud of not only the success we’ve had on the field, but the character of the woman that have played for us and the ones that are still playing.

“This whole ending is surreal. It’s surreal how cold-hearted it’s been. It’s surreal with as nonfactual as it has been. I agree with Jack it is totally untrue.”

The unexpected termination of the highly successful coach arrived after weeks of speculation following his unexpected suspension from the program. Lotief was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 6. but the university did not provide the reasoning behind the leave.

That initial news of Lotion’s leave prompted a statement on Oct. 11 from McElligott, which read: 

“Approximately two weeks ago, Coach Lotief was informed that he was placed on administrative leave. We would like the softball fan base, Ragin’ Cajun supporters and the good people of Lafayette to understand that this action arises out of a passionate conversation about gender equity, between Coach Lotief and other University personnel. In this conversation, Coach Lotief raised simple issues like getting the grass cut, making sure students have an athletic trainer at practice, making sure the assistant coaches get paid and ensuring female athletes get a functional assessment before doing weight training.

“The Lotiefs have spent their university careers fighting for better opportunities for female athletes and to make sure they are afforded equitable opportunities. While no formal complaints have been made against Coach Lotief, we hope that this brings greater awareness to the issues of gender equity, and ask the community for their continued support and prayers for UL’s softball players in this difficult time.”

That gender equity issue, more specifically Title 9 issue, was brought up again the following day when attorney L. Clayton Burgess released a statement which read, “The Law Office of L. Clayton Burgess represents some UL softball players concerning possible Title 9 violations committed by The University of Louisiana-Lafayette; these are very serious issues that not only go to the core of gender equity but also involve discrimination because they are female athletes and even unfair treatment and retaliation by present ULL athletic administrators. These athletes are all great students in the classroom; they are involved in this community providing services to the less fortunate or the sick or mentoring young children, they are very gifted and work extremely hard at their sport to bring prestige to this University; but at this time, they feel very disrespected and mistreated and unappreciated by the athletic administration. We would like to make sure that the Lafayette community and the Ragin’ Cajuns supports know that this is NOT the way we feel about them — they love the overwhelming community support and we ask for your continued prayers and love for these players through this very difficult time.”

Lotief’s other attorney Glenn Edwards also addressed the crowd Wednesday stating how he felt the university was “smearing a family’s reputation” and that the firing was “retaliation for gender equality concerns” and then revealed details about what had occurred behind the scenes. 

Edwards said Lotief met with the university’s human resources department three times with the three meetings totaling nine hours. Edwards said his client did not refuse to answer a single question and when his attorneys were finally allowed to look over documents such as the player statement, they were not allowed to take pictures of said documents or make copies, nor were they granted permission to contact any of the witnesses.

Edwards further stated “we believe that some of the statements were coerced.” 

As players such as D.J. Sanders, Kelli Martinez, and Alyssa Denham sat behind him and to his right fought back tears in between laughter at their former coaches quips, Lotief summarized his time with the Ragin’ Cajuns.

“We’ve had a great run,” Lotief said. “If you look at where we got it and where we are leaving it you say ‘wow.’’

“It disturbs me greatly today. I am ashamed of my university. We have contributed as much as we have contributed and it comes to this.”