Woman admits false accusations against Woodbury Basketball Coach that cost him his job

Julie Bowlin has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Nathan McGuire

A Twin Cities area woman has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by her daughter's basketball coach in a long-running case revived by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Julie Bowlin has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Nathan McGuire, and has signed documents admitting she made numerous false accusations which led to his dismissal as Woodbury High School girls’ basketball coach in 2014.

McGuire told WCCO Radio this ruling has been a long time coming.

“The first year or two, it was absolutely miserable,” McGuire explains. “I didn’t know if people believed these things were true about me.”

Those false accusations against McGuire included bullying and inappropriate touching. Prosecutors say it was all an effort for Bowlin to get her child get more playing time.

A teacher for 23 years in Woodbury schools, the school system has not allowed him to coach because of the allegations. He hopes that will soon change.

“After people see this and her open admission of all these lies that she made, maybe I’ll get coaching jobs,” says McGuire.

McGuire called the decision a relief.

“I always just kind of had a feeling like, do people understand that this is not true? Or are they looking at me in a way, like, ‘oh, that guy.’ Is it a terrible person because of these,” asks McGuire. “I always had this feeling for a long time that people just didn’t really know if was really true or false. It just kind of weighed on me.”

McGuire says Bowlin has not apologized for her actions.

The case was settled early this week just days before the case was to go to trial, after the Minnesota Supreme Court found for the first time that a parent's criticism of a high school coach is not protected by the First Amendment because a coach is not a public figure.

McGuire saying the safeguards it’s created for coaches is the best thing to come from the case

“Now people can reference this case, and hopefully use it to protect themselves and prevent some of what’s happened to me from happening to them.”

Featured Image Photo Credit: (Getty Images)