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Former Maryland Athletic Director Accuses Gary Williams Of Sabotage

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ)—Did Maryland head basketball coach Gary Williams sabotage the search for a coach at another university? That's what the athletic director at North Carolina State believes. Now Maryland students speak out.

Gigi Barnett has more.

The longtime icy relationship between Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams and North Carolina State athletic director Debbie Yow took a nasty turn during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Yow –who once headed Maryland's athletic department – accused Williams of trying to wreck North Carolina State's search for a new head coach.

"It's a Gary Williams out there doing his thing," Yow said.

But when asked if it's her reputation for being "difficult to work with" that ran top contenders away, Yow said this: "I don't have a reputation across all of men's basketball with being difficult to work with. I have a reputation of not getting along with Gary Williams, who tried to sabotage the search. C'mon. We all know that."

And that rekindled an old feud between Yow and Williams.

Williams immediately fired back. In a written statement, he said:

"I haven't talked to anyone - coach or athletic director - connected to the N.C. State search. I don't have any interest in the search, since I'm coaching at Maryland and working hard to run our program. Anyone who says I've had contact with a prospective coach or athletic director regarding this search isn't being truthful."

On Maryland's campus, the head coach has support.

"He's a good man and we all love him," said Andrew Erlich, Maryland student. "We're support[ing] him."

But some students say in sports anything's possible.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's uncommon in sports," said another student. "Just look at what's going on in the NFL, people are sabotaging each other left and right."

There was no comment from the university.

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