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Ex-DC countersues Penn State

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has responded to the school’s lawsuit against him by saying he was forced out and that he encountered “intolerable” working conditions.

In a coun­terclaim filed Thurs­day in U.S. Middle Dis­trict Court in Williams­port, Shoop’s lawyers say that Shoop “was constructively discharged/term­in­ated from, or forced or compelled to leave” Penn State on or about Jan. 10, 2016. They also say he “experienced a hostile, negative work en­vironment.”

Shoop wants Penn State to pay him over $75,000 because he believes the school fired him without cause.

Penn State is seeking nearly $900,000 from Shoop. The school’s lawyers say Shoop was required to pay the university half his base salary for the remaining term of his contract if he decided to leave early.

Shoop’s contract with Penn State states he’d owe the school 50 percent of his remaining base salary if he didn’t become a head coach elsewhere within a year of leaving.

In a statement released earlier this week, the university says it is suing Shoop to recover a “mutually agreed upon amount.”

Shoop has been Ten­nessee’s defensive coordinator since 2016.

Shoop, who also interviewed with LSU for a defensive coordinator spot while at Penn State, has declined to comment.

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