Kennedy wants to avoid a trial and his attorney Mike Allen said in a phone interview with The Associated Press Wednesday that “the case will be resolved,” but Allen would not confirm a report that there will be a plea deal made Monday.
Kennedy faces up to six months in jail if convicted of punching a cab driver on Dec. 18 while the Rebels were in Cincinnati to play Louisville.
Police arrested Kennedy and the team’s director of basketball operations, Bill Armstrong, after the two men allegedly were in a confrontation with Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou. Jiddou claimed to police that Kennedy punched him and used racial slurs after he refused to carry all five members of Kennedy’s staff because the taxi only had four seats for passengers.
The arrest came shortly after Kennedy and his party left a Cincinnati bar. Armstrong was charged with disorderly conduct and has pleaded not guilty.
Both Kennedy and his wife filed civil suits against Jiddou and a witness who corroborated the cab driver’s account. Both filed countersuits, though a judge has set aside the civil cases until the criminal case has been dealt with.
Jiddou, a native of the northwest African country of Mauritania, told police that Kennedy referred to him as “bin Laden” and “Saddam Hussein,” then hit him in the face. He had no apparent injuries and said he wasn’t hurt physically, but was upset by the comparisons.
Kennedy declined comment through the school and the assistant prosecutor handling the case did not return a message left Wednesday.
Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone has supported Kennedy and issued a statement Wednesday that said, “Andy is keeping me informed, and he is hopeful there will be a resolution on Monday.”
The arrest was just one of several problems for the Rebels in Kennedy’s third year, but the team proved resilient. A series of injuries robbed the team of its best players and Ole Miss finished 16-15. It was the first time in Kennedy’s tenure that he did not reach 20 wins or a postseason berth.
T-Town Talk 
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