Former Augusta Colts head coach Bubba Diggs made a move for victory over majority owner John Sisson and the Colts on Thursday, but Sisson and his team have already moved on to another game.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference in North Augusta, Diggs failed to produce a contract to prove the length of his employment with the team, but he did present unofficial paperwork that pointed to a year-long agreement.
At the same time, the Colts front office was already taking steps to hire a new coach.
"We've interviewed one coach already and we're working on narrowing it down to four finalists. Two are local," Colts vice president of operations Andrew Wright said.
Diggs has been at odds with Sisson and the Colts after Sisson informed the longtime Augusta indoor football coach that he would not receive a paycheck past July because his contract expired at the end of the football season.
The 48-year old coach, who has argued that his contract lasts through the end of the calendar year, admitted Thursday there was no written contract but did produce two letters, both from then-Colts assistant general manager Kelli Pierson.
Diggs said the first letter proves he's entitled to payment through the end of December. The letter is dated Jan. 4, 2008 and signed by Pierson but is not signed by Sisson or any of the Colts ownership.
Sisson did not return a phone call seeking comment, but Wright said the letters meant nothing and questioned their authenticity.
Pierson, who was fired from her assistant general manager position in July in a separate incident, said she was given the authority to offer proof of employment.
Diggs started the news conference by saying his intent was to bring closure to the situation but also said he planned to take legal action as early as today.
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
Amazing how empty these boards are now that the truth is finally out...
Funny..... I was thinking the same thing.
??
I can't beleave that you idiots think you won. You have won nothing this was about Coach Diggs but it was also about other things. It's about standing up for whats right and about sending a message to all of you that you need to go we don't want you here and esspecially John Sisson. He needs to be nailed to the barn door along with the rest of the yahoos on your staff.
( In fact can't think of a better way to do it than to drag all of you through the streets.)
Since you all live in a fantasy world and think everything is over allow me to enlighten you as to what the future holds for the Augusta Colts if and I do mean the word if you make it to the first game.
1. You have [filtered word] off all your season ticket holders because you didn't provide them with their replica jerseys.
2. The Civic Center thinks you are the biggest joke in Augusta and you are don't look for a contract at the arena after pulling the crap with Flash and the other money matters.
3. No sponsor in his right mind would give you ten bucks with Sisson and the other guy in your front office. In addtion to the numerous lies, broken promises you made last season.
4. You attacked Jimmy Young many times.
and choose to air your displeasure with him in front of people in Augusta. ( Folks the man aint a genius but he's a human being and is a better people person than you could ever be. 5. You let Coach Diggs go which causes you to lose even more creditability in the area in addtion to attendance. 6. You lost you cheerleading squad which also carries a ton of weight in the area plus you failed to pay them for their services. 7. You left a bad taste in the mouth of numerous sponsors which you still owe in addtion to Lord Knows what else. 8. You have left yourself open for at least six lawsuits that are pending in addtion to a boat load of other charges.
9. I'm waiting for Jimmy Young to sue you and take back his property if nothing else put his foot down which you don't need the hassle.
10. You lost alot of players and have destroyed your creditabilty with anybody around these parts that can play.
11. You attacked me by talking behind my back to my friends and you have forced me to put your name at the top of my most wanted list.
Kids you are toast there is nothing you can say or do to make it right and no matter what you do we will find you. You need to stand trial in the media.
My best and most sincere piece of advice is give us John Sisson and leave town you will come out better for it. Stay and you will have myself and many others who will crawl your butt everynight and day until you break.
You see they are a bunch of us who have a plan for sports (football) in Augusta you are not part of it. You had your moment in the sun.
Average attendance as Augusta Spartans 4800 yours 1290. Morale index Spartans 95 % yours 20%. The truth hurts the wife of the grass cutter minority owner posted in my oppion the funiest post ever on here the other day. Your record speaks for its self truth hurts no we wll not move on until each one of you is tracked down and brought to justice. If arena football fails in Augusta you all will be sued not the team try us.
If that guy John provided him with a contract like stated after that first letter, Diggs has no case. The latter contract takes presedence. If they do not have a contract after that letter, the letter is the contract. All depends on if that contract was ever issued. It's plain and simple. Produce the latter contract or pay up.
In closing GO Augusta Groove and may God have Mercy on the Augusta Colts. Football will make it in Augusta and will do well but you have no heart and are a disgrace leave town now.
Good grief! "truth police" I really don't know who your are or what exactly these folks did to you personally, but please take my advice and calm down! I would hate for something to happen to any of these people and you get the blame for it just because they could take these posts as threats. I don't have any part of this matter...not a season ticket holder, not a sponsor, not a coach, not an owner, hell, I'm not even a cheerleader!...but I am a fan of indoor football. I want some team to come back and do well. I would like to say one thing, and I've said this before here, the only game I was lucky enough to go to this year was the last one. In that game, I kept an eye on Sisson and could see him watching Coach Diggs during the latter part of the game. I saw Sisson shaking his head several times and I could see that he was not pleased with Diggs' quiet and laid back attitude, which is unlike his usual on-field attitude. I couldn't help but get the feeling then that something was up. I just didn't know it was that Diggs would be let go!
To truth police: you need to see a phyciatrist. you are truely a phycotic. Where you are at it has to be very dark. Stand up straight, and you will be able to see, you have your head somewhere it don't belong. You have no idea what is going on!! Those that really support the colts will support anyone that owns it. You might want to ask Jimmy Young why he sold the team. And furthermore, I think that anymore threats there will be people showing up on your doorstep not Mr. Sisson. I suggest that you bite your tongue and like I said stand up and look around because God didn't put you on this earth to be talking like that. Did you know that you can go to jail for threating peoples lives??? Not only have you threatened Mr. Sission you have threatened his entire staff. Therefore not only can Mr. Sission press charges so can his ENTIRE STAFF!!!!!!
Johan and others, you guys say this is the truth but AGAIN we will let the law decide who's right and what's fair. Like i said on my last board, NO ONE (including my brother) would leave their full time job with no promise...so you and this truth will pervail person can really be quite...LIKE I'VE ALWAYS SAID, Karma is serious and what's right is right! Now you have your message...but like I said, the one thing that exist within the COLTS is ignorance! Too ignorant to do the right thing!
You guys really need Jesus...Sission is QUOTED as saying that Bubba's contract expired the end of the season BUT the WHOLE argument has been that he doesn't have a contract (at least this is what Sission and his entourage has been saying). Read between the lines folks, all this stuff is contradictory.THIS should be something for you to think about....it doesn't make sense. Now talk about that! Now, the board is full Johan! There's more to this but of course, you can't show ALL your cards and there are many more that are not in the media
Please don't judge my faith. I have done nothing wrong. I am getting threatened and I am getting persecuted for saying what I think! I know there are more cards and that falls from both sides, remember I know what both sides have told me. I stand for football and football alone!! Diggs knows I fought for him, I only stood up when he crossed the line. And i know first hand that karma is a force to deal with, I DEAL WITH IT EVERY DAY! He ruined a Charity Golf tournament and repeatedly threatened this fact to me on my phone. This was going to give 20k to a charity good for all Augustans, Disabled children, wounded military, and many more. HE KNEW THIS, HE THREATENED THIS, HE RUINED THIS. He was offered the chance to make a contract to fix the "missing or non-existant" contract. He was going to have a job, he turned this up. You can ask him about this, or better yet, listen to my messages. This is why I said something and why I am upset. So do not question my faith or what I know, I know enough. I took off what was inappropriate and chose not to "blast" your brother. THE REST OF YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME. Read the other messages and then question the faith of those who are defending your brother and then those of the ones he hurt.
Johanna
and by the way.... i deleted my comments because they were unnecessary. the issue of diggs character is not at hand. i was caught in a moment of anger and lapsed good judgment. however, my feelings remain the same. he knows what he did, he has to sleep with it. that's all that matters. he knows i tried, john knows i tried. when they both learn to step off the football field with their testosterone levels off the charts then maybe they can resolve this issue!
I am not judging or questioning your faith. I just told you what I feel....like i said to you before, your comments about Bubba were really unnecessary and that's my issue with you. From what i've read, Bubba has yet to "bash" John and here you go "bashing" him. WRONG move,you are a sales girl who just got with the organization according to Kel's comments on the last website so i DOUBT that you know all what you claim to know UNLESS there's another relationship goin' on but again not my issue. I have one question for you...would you quit a full time job to be caught up in this kind of mess if you KNEW this would be the end result? BTW, in case u don't know, Bubba INTRODUCED John Sisson to Jimmy Young to SAVE football in AUGUSTA. Idon't think that Bubba would have done this IF he would have known something like THIS would be the end result. JOHN and BUBBA know the truth! IT sounds like you're upset about something that has nothing to do with Bubba getting paid and now you're making personal attacks because you're upset about this charity event. That's not the issue at hand. In defense of my brother, Bubba does a WHOLE lot for the community so again, chill out!
Augusatfootballfan1, could you please explain how one man could stop a 20k charity event from happening? According to you, Coach Diggs was no longer a part of the Colts organization.
If this is the case, then I would like to think that the event should have happened, and it should have been a huge success!
If everything was legit, then I would also like to think that all of the "celebrity golfers" would have been more than happy to play so that all of the less fortunate children and adults could benefit from such a worthwhile event. Unless you emailed Coach Diggs the names of each of the "celebrity golfers" and he personally contacted each one of them and asked them not to participate, then how again is this his fault? Sounds like another blunder by the Colts to me! Oh yeah, one more thing, according to you, Coach Diggs was no longer under "contract", so just how could he cause this event not to happen? He has always attended many events around the CSRA on behalf of the Colts and the other teams he has coached. I have personally seen him represent the Colts many times. Don't try to make this his fault unless you put him in charge of the event itself.
Johanna, it appears that all Bubba wants is to get paid for the job he did based on what he was promised by Mr. Sisson. You say you have only been with the Colts since around March or April,then how would you know what happened prior to that? Were you in the meetings that the two of them had along with Kelli or hear any of the conversations amomg the three of them? I believe that a man's word is his bond, and many deals have been made based on words alone. I'm sure you have made promises to people based on your word and hopefully, you kept all of your promises because you are a person of integrity and honor. I guess you are defending the Colts because you now work for them, and that is nice of you to do so. I just hope that you hsve signed a contract so that you will not find yourself in this same situation someday after having worked, but unable to get paid. Oh yeah, according to the article, Coach Diggs did have a contract based on Mr. Sisson's own words. So, we've gone from him having no contract to him having a contract that ended in July. If this is the case, then show the Augusta community the contract so that everyone can move on and long live the Colts!
I would like to state in defense of my brother.. all Bubba wanted was to create a winner for the Augusta community which he loves and which my parents have raised us all to be WINNERS and to treat people right and to be fair. The COLTS organization should be ashamed.. You wouldn't perform the marketing that was needed to be done in order to sustain the team/organization.. My sister/brother don't even live in Augusta and we did alot of marketing .. we had people coming from out of town to support the COLTS. Bubba had friends who were scouts coming out..etc. making a way for the dreamers.The players were subjected to substandard conditions and you wanted a winning team..HOW..Bubba was their voice and fought for them always ...and they respected and trusted him.. My parents raised us to believe that you get back what you give out and Bubba LIVED for the Colts because he was COACH Diggs and people love and believe in him and the dreams that he had for Augusta and arena football. Let me share the most important point thru all this with you.. Bubba is a champion in every way father, husband, brother,son, friend... long before he met the Colts and thank God he doesn't need You and/or your substandard organization to quantify his existence. It's your LOSS.. you can interview 1000 coaches..who could trust to play for the COLTS considering "a man's word is his bond" and apparently your words are empty. Just pay UP.. as much as Bubba rode in his own personal vehicle sourcing investors talking to kids in schools..etc (check out pics at local schools on U R Spotted) He suggested mini-camps for the kids,and other activities to bring positive exposure to the COLTS/CSRA etc. Bubba knows people all over the map..I assure you he makes it happen, the Bubba Diggs way..at 100% and functions as the BEST.He's always strived for greatness.. My mother was on her death bed on a Saturday night and he coached HIS team thru his heartache, tears, a rollercoaster of emotions, etc to victory after the game he/we went to my mother's bedside and sat and told her that the team dedicated the game to her..my mom was his personal coach/cheerleader.. my mom died that Monday. At this point I don 't even think it's the money it's the PRINCIPLE, SACRIFICE, ENERGY, etc....Please, do the right thing..if you have a conscious let it be your guide.. The people of Augusta don't deserve this mockery of our beautiful city..
My question is why is this all of a sudden an issue with Johanna? All she did was try to smooth things over between Mr. Sisson and Bubba. The true fight is between Bubba and Mr. Sisson and noone else. I think it is time to stop the badgering of everyone and lets see what happens in the end. I can understand being raised to give back what you give out. I can understand why Mr. Sison hasn't said anything because everytime he does his words get twisted around. In other words, enough is enough. With or without Bubba the colts will go on. There is nothing that can be done. If you all and Bubba want to be in the indoor football so much then why don't you make an offer to Mr. Sisson to buy the team then everyone can keep their mouths shut. The last time I checked there is alot of slander going on against Mr. Sisson. If I know my laws correctly there is a chance for a lawsuit against the whole family for trying to stop the colts from going on. In other words it is time to let everything settle as it will be done.
colts will pervail, there is no issue with Johanna other than the SLANDER that she has created against my brother! Keep in mind and I'll say it again just in case you didn't read it, no one from my family has used SLANDER against John. What has been stated about him was information that was obtained from the media reports (i.e. aug chronicle and the local news) SO if there's anyone to blame for slander, it would be the media and the COLTS staff (you're probably an employee too!). Futhermore, I said it before, Bubba introduced John to this opportunity THINKING that he would do the right thing! Whoever you are (coltswillpervail), no one is trying to stop the COLTS from going on,they are going to stop themselves with all this negative press and unethical behavior of not even trying to correct this problem. A previous writer has already quoted the attendance was at an all time low since indoor football came to Augusta. The #'s don't lie! John is going to draw all this negative press to himself which will be as a result of the demise of the colts...believe me sweetie, it won't have nothing to do with BUBBA! YOU may want to brush up on your legal knowledge and know the rules! Good DAY!
I really hope and pray that the Colts will pervail. No one is trying to stop the team or the fans from supporting the team. Neither is anyone trying to attack Johanna or Mr. Sisson. The real attack here is against Coach Diggs. As previously stated, all he wants is to get paid for his job that he went above and beyond to perform. You talk about slander, but the media is the one who started all of this. He was under the impression that he was still the head coach until he was contacted by the media to ask him why he no longer held that position. Now the question is, where did they get that information from? It had to have come from within the Colts organization itself. Now, I wonder who could have given out such information except for someone who knows everything that is going on from the inside. Just pay the man so that he can get on with his life, and so that the Colts can get on with football. As a matter of fact, I'm ready for some football now! Are you?
It really shouldn't matter who the owner(s), coaches are. The thing that matters is there is a team. I for one come out to the games to see the players play football, not to watch the coaches, staff or owners. The ones that win the game are the players. Just ask anyone that played for the team wether the got paid or not. I think that if or after this goes to court then if Mr. Sisson has to pay then it should be released that he paid and if Bubba has no claim then he should have to appologize in the media. This way everyone knows that things has been cleared up. As for the arena that issue was taken care of the day that it was to be done. I think that enough mud slinging on the boards have been enough. It is time to get on with football for the 2009 season. Yes, the COLTS will be here in the 2009 season. There are several people out there that just want to see football and see the team win.
Hmm...What an interesting saga which I have been watching unfold. I would think that when a person speaks too much of that about which he knows too little, then in the end, he does appear a bit like an [filtered word]. (Perhaps I will appear as such as well for even writing this one comment, but I am willing to admit my faults and accept the outcome). Has it occured to anyone that the only persons who truly know the truth in its entirety are Mr. Diggs & Mr. Sisson? Mr. Diggs has spoken his piece, in his way ... in his time; now allow Mr. Sisson to give his reply, in his way ... in his time. If both are of quality character, as each side has proclaimed, then let Mr. Diggs & Mr. Sisson work thru this situation themselves, using the proper avenues ... not by others doing it for them & certainly not thru the avenue of the message boards. Remember that if one climbs too high upon a Soap Box then one must be prepared for a great downfall when one Slips. By the way ... whatever gave anyone the idea that the Media could be trusted to Print information correctly ... therefore, to Quote correctly?
Many people do come out to see the team play, but when have you ever seen a team play without a coach? The two do seem to go hand in hand. There are many people who are tired of all of this. I attended every single home game, and this season was very different from last season. The game itself was fun to watch, but all of the entertainment that used to go on during the time-outs and half time were gone. I heard many people say that they really missed this part of the game which made the games fan friendly. I really do hope that this issue is resolved soon. It seems as though more and more info is coming out against the Colts, and it is not good for them. I do wonder, who is going to play, and who is going to fill the stands. Just returning and not having the support of the fans will not be enough to sustain a team. I personally do not want to see players who have not touched a football in years, and a coach who doesn't get into the game or one that is not friendly towards the fans. Coach Diggs was animated and coached with much excitement. He gave it his all and all, and many came just because of him. That is what I would like to continue to see in Augusta.
O yeah, did you ever see Mr. Sisson get excited at a game or even go and greet the team or the fans after a game? He was very visible at the first home game when he honored Coach Diggs and said all of those wonderful things about him. So, just how do you go from really liking your coach and showering with all kinds of praises and a rolex watch to not wanting to pay him or getting rid of him at the end of the season without his knowledge? The two of them seemed to have gotten along very well together. Sounds kind of strange to me!!
One big joke. I feel sorry for Bubba. I will not support the Colts and I will tell my friends, co-workers, family and anyone else that mentions the Colts not to support them.
I have worked with John Sisson before. He may give off the impression that he is a nice guy, but he's not. He is a two-faced liar. I wasn't paid my money for doing mascot work for him. He said that he was low on money at the time. He wants to be around sports so bad, he told me that he would invest his savings to be an owner. He did, and look what happened. This guy is the worst sports team manager ever. He used to have a mascot company and that paid his water bill probably. He has this friend/lover/employee with the Colts named Carina who is very weird and off the wall. I think she does drugs. She is his sidekick. I heard that he told her to get on this website and post some positive comments. You better keep on typing, because people hate John Sisson. This was just an awful idea to assign him to GM/Owner. No matter how much money he has or stole, you have to have some experience with the sports industry. The minute I saw he was owner of the Colts, I knew that was the end of Augusta Indoor Football, or at least until somebody with some sense buys the team. PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP! This guy doesn't know what he is doing. He's a fake.
PS, coltswillpervail. You need to learn how to spell. It's PREVAIL idiot. Are you one of the people John Sisson asked to write positive comments on here so they don't go bankrupt this year. Too late! People all around know what's going on and your prices are ridiculous for half-talented players.
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