Giuliani's Son Sues Duke

Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, has sued Duke University, claiming his golf coach fabricated accusations to justify dismissing him from the golf team.

The 22-year-old, a senior-to-be this fall, contends his dreams of becoming a professional golfer have been imperiled because he's no longer a member of Duke's golf team. He said in a statement Thursday that he sued "to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else at Duke."

Duke spokesman Michael J. Schoenfeld said the university would "vigorously defend this lawsuit" and that the school insisted on fairness for all members of its sports teams.

According to the lawsuit, Giuliani claims that new coach O.D. Vincent, the former golf coach at the University of Washington and UCLA, manufactured two incidents that forced him to dismiss the player. The coach dismissed Giuliani because he "flipped his putter a few feet to his golf bag" and drove fast while leaving a golf course parking lot, according to the suit. Giuliani was also accused of playing a team football game harder than the other players liked and of being disrespectful to a trainer.

But Giuliani, as part of his 198-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Durham attorney Robert Eckstrand, says that conduct wasn't grounds for dismissal. In fact, he alleges that Vincent wanted to cut the team from 14 players to about half that size. He also claims a breach of contract because he was recruited by Duke's previous coaching staff. "The termination of Andrew's eligibility would mean less competition for the few spots available," the lawsuit says.

Giuliani's best finish last season was a tie for 36th at the Fighting Illini Invitational in Olympia Fields, Ill. His season competition average was 74.5, good for 12th best on the 13-man team. Earlier this month he advanced to the quarterfinals of in the 108th playing of the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2.

"This has been heartbreaking," said Giuliani's mother, Donna Hanover, in a statement. "We tried for many months to convince members of the Duke administration that this situation should be corrected and we are sad that we have now had to turn to the court."