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SI stands by Price story in court Posted: Saturday August 02, 2003 4:01 PMBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The parent company of Sports Illustrated says it stands by the magazine's article about a night of boozing at a Florida topless bar that led to Alabama head coach Mike Price's dismissal, court records show. Time Inc. and SI writer Don Yaeger deny allegations in Price's lawsuit claiming they committed slander or libel in a May 12 article. The article claimed, among other things, that Price had sex with two women in a hotel room while he was in Pensacola, Fla., attending a pro-am golf tournament. Price has sued Time and SI for $20 million for the article. He sued Alabama for the same amount after university president Mike Witt fired him on May 3. In court papers filed the week of July 22, Time and Yaeger acknowledge receiving a May 22 letter from Price's attorney demanding a retraction of some statements in the article. They said no retraction was printed because the article was truthful. Price's lawsuit outlines seven portions of the article that Price says are untrue. Among them are reports that Price went to a strip club immediately upon arriving in Pensacola, that he touched a dancer while in a semiprivate area, that he fondled a waitress at the club and that he had sex with two women in his hotel room. Price is seeking $10 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages from Time. He seeks the same amounts in a lawsuit against Alabama. Price had appealed his firing, but a faculty panel rejected his request for a hearing. Price's lawsuit also claims that Yaeger appeared as a guest on the Paul Finebaum Radio Show May 6 after faxing a copy of the upcoming article to the show. The article was discussed at length in the interview. Yaeger denies in the court papers he faxed an advance copy to the show. Price came to Alabama from Washington State after last season. He had a seven-year, $10 million contract to coach the Crimson Tide, but had not signed it when Witt fired him May 3. The university hired Miami Dolphins assistant Mike Shula to replace Price.
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