ON THE SIDELINES : ‘Overreaction’ in Nebraska Case

A University of Nebraska official testified today that he told Coach Tom Osborne that he thought Osborne was overreacting to the circulation of a football player’s high school transcript.

Vice Chancellor James Griesen testified in the fourth day of a U.S. District Court trial on a lawsuit brought by Mary Jane Visser, who claims that she was fired as a university adviser in 1988 because she was investigating student athletes’ records.

On Thursday, the jury heard testimony that University of Nebraska officials were warned that they were “in a full-scale war” involving a student adviser who raised questions about some football players’ academic records. Griesen said he met with Osborne in February to discuss the coach’s concern about the circulating transcript.

Griesen said he told Osborne that the individual responsible for circulating the transcript “was a long-term trusted employee” and “not someone out to get the program.”