[VIDEO] Updated: UK assistant coach arrested

Assistant coach Rod Strickland watches the Cats play during the first half of UK’s second round win over Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament at New Orleans Arena on Saturday, March 20, 2010. Photo by Britney McIntosh

Lexington Police arrested UK men’s basketball assistant coach Rod Strickland early Sunday morning, charging him with DUI, driving without insurance, driving with no registration tags and disregarding a traffic device.

Lt. Fred Lisanby said Strickland ran a red light at Tates Creek and New Circle Road, nearly colliding with another vehicle. The incident happened at 2:55 a.m. Sunday.

The UK assistant and former NBA star has three previous DUI arrests, the most recent being a 2001 incident in Virginia. Strickland was convicted in 1998 for the same charge and completed a year probation and 30 hours of community service. In 1999, he was acquitted of charges relating to driving drunk in Washington.

This past season was the first for Strickland as an assistant at the collegiate level.

According to Strickland’s contract, he may be fired for any offenses listed by the university’s human resources employee handbook, especially any laid out in policy 12.1.3.

“I’m certainly disappointed,” said President Lee Todd. “ We’ll just have to deal with it.”

“We want to make sure we understand everything as we go through the conversation,” said UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart.

Part of that policy states any employee may be fired for defaming the university’s reputation. Under the handbook’s alcohol policies, an employee can be terminated for the use of alcohol at work or coming to work under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol abuse outside the workplace is vaguely touched on, with only a brief mention of the possibility of referral to abuse treatment.

Strickland is scheduled to appear in court on April 15 at 1 p.m.

-Staff reporter Brandon Goodwin contributed to this story.