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Sean Kugler filing arbitration case against Cardinals over firing

A law firm representing former Offensive Line Coach Sean Kugler says the Arizona Cardinals dismissed him without conducting a thorough investigation.
Credit: AP
Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Sean Kugler walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

PHOENIX — Former Cardinals Offensive Line Coach Sean Kugler is filing an arbitration case against the NFL team after he was abruptly dismissed following allegations that he groped a woman in Mexico City. 

Shields Petitti, an Arizona law firm representing Kugler, announced this week it was seeking arbitration with the Arizona Cardinals for terminating Kugler over what the law firm calls "unsubstantiated allegations."

"The allegations against Coach Kugler are simply untrue and have caused Sean, his wife and family enormous personal and professional damage," stated attorney Michael Petitti.

Kugler was dismissed after reports surfaced last month of an incident where Kugler allegedly touched a woman inappropriately in Mexico City. 

Kugler's attorneys said the Cardinals did not investigate the claims thoroughly before dismissing him. 

"The mysterious allegations by the Cardinals are untrue, and I want to clear my name. Be it a miscommunication or mistaken identity, my family and I will cooperate fully and honestly with the NFL, Cardinals, or any other agency to get to the truth in this matter and restore my reputation," Kugler said in a statement.

An arbitration case is an alternative method of resolving disputes between two parties that don't involve judiciary courts.

The Cardinals released their own statement on Friday: “As an ongoing legal matter, we are going to refrain from comment other than to say that the team is confident the process will result in a much different set of facts than those presented today and that it had good cause to terminate Mr. Kugler’s employment.”

This is a developing story. We will update this as more information becomes available.

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