Sullivan still searching for answers regarding suspension
AUBURN | Frankie Sullivan went to work on Nov. 11 and figured it would be like any other Saturday during basketball season.
Everything changed when head coach Bruce Pearl notified him to vacate Auburn Arena. Sullivan, the Tigers' video coordinator, was being placed on administrative leave along with special assistant Jordan Verhulst. No reason was provided.
Sullivan was summoned to the athletic department two days later. That's when he was given a letter, he says provided by chief operating officer Marcy Girton, that confirmed the suspension. Still, no reason was provided.
Now the former Auburn standout wonders if he'll ever return to the program — and why he was exiled in the first place.
"Failing to explain to Frankie why he's been suspended is extremely unusual and very frustrating," said Ted Mann, a Birmingham attorney who is representing Sullivan. "All he has right now is a letter that explains nothing."
Henry Gimenez, a partner with Lightfoot, Franklin & White, a Birmingham-based firm retained by Auburn to assist its investigation into former associate head coach Chuck Person, requested to interview Sullivan in October. Sullivan agreed. A few days later, Sullivan sat down with Gimenez and answered questions with Mann in attendance.
The interview ended, Mann said, without a hint of trouble.
"Frankie saw nothing and heard nothing that could be considered an NCAA violation, an SEC violation or a breach of Auburn policy," Mann said. "Nothing said in that interview should lead to a suspension."
Mann declined to provide a summary of Gimenez's questions because he said both parties agreed to keep the meeting confidential. To that end, Mann was shocked by an ESPN.com report published Nov. 13 that indicated Sullivan's suspension was "related to the same type of issues that the FBI uncovered in its investigation of former Tigers associate head coach Chuck Person."
Sullivan spent the 2016-17 season as a graduate assistant before being elevated to his current position last summer.
"To think (Sullivan) was involved with anything Chuck Person was into is insanity," Mann said. "Someone in the athletic department is leaking information to ESPN. The implication that Frankie was complicit or was in any way involved with what Chuck Person is accused of doing — that's coming from Auburn. This is supposed to be a confidential process. That's what they requested."
Requests for comment from Girton and university president Steven Leath were referred to Brian Keeter, the university's director of public affairs.
"Two members of the men's basketball support staff were suspended with pay earlier this week by the Auburn Athletics Department," Keeter wrote Friday evening. "Both were informed that Auburn uncovered potential violations of university policy. As the investigation unfolds, they will have the opportunity to respond. No action will be taken until after that time. "