By IVES GALARCEP
When Daniel Hernandez finished up his playing career with FC Dallas last fall, he fully expected to make the transition to the team’s coaching staff in a move similar to ones made by many long-time MLS players. The veteran midfielder had spent years in Major League Soccer, and years wearing the armband for FC Dallas, and he figured to have at least two years working the sidelines alongside Schellas Hyndman, his former college coach and the man who brought him to play for his hometown FC Dallas.
Things didn’t quite work out that way. less than two months after retiring, Hernandez was fired by FC Dallas for what was deemed as engaging in competitive activities with FC Dallas. His mistake? Hernandez has now filed a lawsuit against FC Dallas alleging Breach of Contract and the lawsuit alleges that he was ultimately fired for displaying a Nike swoosh on his personal website (FC Dallas is sponsored by adidas).
Hernandez is now suing FC Dallas for the remaining two years of his coaching contract, for Breach of Contract and Fraudulent Inducement. The latter claim stemming from the fact that FC Dallas convinced Hernandez to take a pay cut in 2012 by signing him to a three-year player/coach contract his is alleging the club never intended to pay.
“Daniel only wants them to live up to promises they made,” Dave Wishnew, Hernandez’s attorney, told SBI. “FC Dallas improperly terminated his coaching contract in order to avoid paying him two years of his slary.
“We tried handling it without ltigiation, but they forced Daniel to seek a lawsuit to receive what is rightfully his,” Wishnew added. “He loved his time with FC Dallas and the community. He wanted to retire with some dignity and fulfull his commitment as a coach and he wasn’t given that opportunity.”
The details included in the lawsuit paint a picture of mistreatment for a former player who served as the team’s captain for three of his four seasons with the club. Hernandez served as captain on the FC Dallas team that reached the MLS Cup Final, where it lost to the Colorado Rapids.
Hernandez spent 13 seasons playing in MLS, with stints in Mexico included in a professional career that saw him play for five different MLS teams. He served as captain for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and FC Dallas.
The lawsuit is the latest bit of bad news for a club that has endured a rough few months. Back in November, then-FC Dallas president Doug Quinn was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife in a New York hotel. Quinn eventually resigned from FC Dallas.
You can read the full details of the lawsuit here:
What do you think of this development? Think Hernandez has a strong case? Disappointed with the way FC Dallas treated their former captain?
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