On Tuesday, the saga involving former USF football coach Jim Leavitt’s firing from the University took a sudden, unexpected and sad turn.

Leavitt’s attorneys filed a new motion in his wrongful termination suit against the University that brings forward questionable accusations that have no relevance to the actual event that led to his firing.

Leavitt should either accept responsibility for the alleged actions that resulted in his termination or simply move on. Instead, his legal team has engaged in a tasteless battle against the University that it has no chance of winning.

The motion contained multiple misspellings and claimed that Athletic Director Doug Woolard “had a pre-determined mindset to terminate in order that Leavitt be publically (sic) discredited in the event Leavitt was questioned regarding his knowledge of the basketball recruiting issue and thereby protect Woolard’s reputation and job security at USF and any future employment.”

Leavitt claims he knows insider information proving that the hiring of Terrelle Woody, who worked as the basketball program’s video and conditioning assistant, was a violation of NCAA procedures, though it has already been fully investigated by the NCAA, which found no wrongdoing.

The motion also alleges that USF President Judy Genshaft was predisposed to fire him because she, supposedly, said that only “docs and jocks” could bring down a college president, so Leavitt was a threat.

The timing of the conspiracy accusations is questionable – he should have mentioned them immediately – and make Leavitt appear desperate.

Leavitt’s attorneys are also trying to obtain personal call records and correspondences between Genshaft and Woolard, and have also questioned the integrity of using an attorney in the investigation who had worked for USF in the past.

The University’s independent investigation into what occurred in the locker room during halftime of the Nov. 14 game against Louisville found that Leavitt grabbed walk-on player Joel Miller by the throat and slapped him across the face, which was witnessed by several players in the locker room.

Leavitt knows that he won’t return as coach at USF, so he runs the risk of further damaging his reputation by proceeding with a fight that seems outlandish since the new claims made in the motion were never a part of his original argument.

Continuing with his public charade may end up costing Leavitt more than it’s worth with regard to his future employment and public support.