SCOOBA – Buddy Stephens, the former head football coach for East Mississippi Community College, has lawyered up to fight his termination from the school.

Stephens coached 18 seasons at EMCC, leading the Lions to five junior college national championships. He was also a prominent figure in the first two seasons of the Netflix documentary “Last Chance U,” which chronicled the team’s 2015 and 2016 campaigns.

In response to a public records request, EMCC’s human resources department provided The Dispatch a document Tuesday that shows Aug. 31 as Stephens’ “end of employment.” That is the same day the college announced he had been replaced as head coach.

His dismissal came on the heels of comments he made to a Dispatch reporter during a media day in August, where he criticized EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference officials for MACCC’s new playoff format. Specifically, he called the system “junkified” and the leadership responsible for coming up with it “idiots.”

“I was very surprised at how it came out because there were actual people who have doctorates that came up with this,” Stephens said at the time.

Conference leadership is composed of presidents from member institutions, including EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks.

On the same day Stephens was dismissed, Alsobrooks issued a statement disavowing the former coach’s comments and apologizing on behalf of EMCC.

Stephens has not commented on the record about his firing, instead referring all questions to his attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo.

Waide told The Dispatch on Tuesday he is representing Stephens on constitutional grounds.

“Buddy Stephens has made a remarkable contribution to Mississippi by speaking out on a matter of public interest, which is a clear constitutional right,” Waide said. “Firing Buddy is a great disservice to Mississippi. We intend to do everything possible to remedy the wrong.”

EMCC officials had remained tight-lipped about Stephens’ employment status prior to responding to The Dispatch’s public records request.

The document the school provided notes Stephens was an at-will employee at EMCC and had no contract. Therefore, the school argues, his employment could be terminated at any time, with or without cause. Only the president and faculty employees have contracts, the document reads.

Stephens’ salary, according to the document, was $145,966.