Former men's golfer who sued Duke joins Trump administration

Andrew Giuliani, a former men’s golf player who sued the University, has taken a role in the Trump White House, according to a press release.

Giuliani, Trinity ’09, will serve as associate director for the Office of Public Liaison, which interacts with interest groups. Giuliani, who is the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was on the men’s golf team while at Duke. But he was dismissed from the team in Spring 2008, and he subsequently sued the University. The suit was eventually dismissed. 

While at Duke, Giuliani aspired to be a professional golfer. Giuliani told The Chronicle in 2008 that although he did not have an athletic scholarship during his time on the team, he had been offered one before matriculating at Duke.

O.D. Vincent was head golf coach when Giuliani was suspended. According to a Chronicle report, the decision was made after Giulani broke golf clubs, disrespected a trainer and threw an apple at a former teammate.

Giuliani then sued the University for the dismissal, claiming that Duke had violated its own policies by suspending him for a cause not listed in the various documents that laid out rules for student-athletes. He also claimed that Vincent conspired to remove him from the team by requiring a note of support from each of his teammates in order to end the suspension. 

"The only University document that is consistent with O.D. Vincent's scheme is the library's copy of William Goulding's [sic] The Lord of the Flies," the suit read. "O.D. Vincent's bizarre scheme violated both the spirit and the plain meaning of the contract."

In his suit, Giuliani sought monetary damages from the University as well as access to training facilities available to former student-athletes.

The suit was eventually dismissed in 2010 by U.S. District Judge William Osteen. Osteen determined in his ruling that the documents setting out rules for student-athletes do not constitute a contract between athletes and Duke.