Former Arizona HC Rodriguez accuses ex-assistant of $7.5M extortion

Former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez has accused an ex-assistant and her attorney of fabricating a story of sexual harassment in order to extort $7.5 million from him, Anne Ryman and Craig Harris of The Republic report.

Rodriguez's attorneys outlined the accusation in a legal response to a notice of claim filed against the coach with the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The ex-assistant, Melissa Wilhelmsen, in December filed the multimillion-dollar claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, in which she says Rodriguez sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment.

Related: Details of sexual harassment claim against Rodriguez emerge after firing

Arizona fired Rodriguez in January, but said in a release the harassment allegations "could not be substantiated based on the evidence and witnesses available."

Rodriguez's response letter, obtained by The Republic, says Wilhelmsen's attorney called the coach's attorney multiple times in November to make three allegations of harassment which were not true. As per the letter, a follow-up email from Wilhelmsen's attorney said it would require "multiple million dollars" to resolve the issue.

Rodriguez's attorneys said he took the extortion allegations to the university, U.S. Attorney's Office, and FBI.