Topless bar employees' accounts differ in Price case

PULLMAN — The truth of some information from several employees of a topless bar that cost Mike Price the head football coaching job at Alabama is being questioned in court documents, a newspaper reported yesterday.

In an interview with Price and in court documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, three employees at a Pensacola, Fla., topless bar could not agree on the events that led to Price's firing by Alabama.

One of the dancers who initially claimed she was in Price's hotel room admitted she lied to reporters.

Price said the widely reported rumor that he had sex with two women in a Pensacola hotel room is false.

"That never happened," Price told the newspaper. "I never committed adultery."

Price also disputed many of the facts in a Sports Illustrated article about his firing, which alleged that Price purchased drinks for and propositioned female students.

"That story destroyed my reputation," Price said. "Hurt my family. Hurt me. And it was nothing but lies."

Price, who left Washington State last winter for the Alabama job, has filed a $20 million libel suit against Time, Inc., the magazine's parent company, and writer Don Yaeger.

Price was fired on May 3 and said he has been treated for depression since.

"I got professional help because of the guilt feeling that I had to deal with every day," said Price. "I now know what depression is."

A federal judge in Birmingham, Ala., dismissed a $20 million wrongful-termination lawsuit Price filed against Alabama.

Price was in Pensacola last April 16 to play in a golf tournament. He visited three bars that night and later entered Arety's, a topless dance club.

Jennifer Eaton, a dancer at Arety's, was one of two women who initially claimed she was in Price's room. She has since told Stephen Heninger, Price's attorney, that she fabricated the story.

She said she was bothered by reporters. "I got tired of being harassed," Eaton said. "So I told them, 'OK, fine, I was there, the man was nice ... nothing happened.' "

Tracy Brigalia, a waitress at Arety's, told Price's lawyer that the coach did not proposition her. Eaton, who sat at a table with Price, corroborated that statement.

Brigalia told Heninger in a taped interview that she was the only woman in the hotel room with Price. She said she never was interviewed by Sports Illustrated about what happened in the room.

Yaeger wrote in his story that Price had "aggressive sex" with two women. He said he stands by his story.

Lori "Destiny" Boudreaux, a dancer at Arety's, told Heninger that she was not present in the hotel room with Price.

"I never told anyone I was at any hotel room with anyone," Boudreaux said. "I was the source that talked to the girls that were present, that's all I did tell (SI) about knowing what happened."

Price said he continues to look for a job in college football or the NFL. The Arizona Republic reported yesterday that Price has applied for the coaching job at Arizona.