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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=\"0107_steve_sarkisian_usc_TMZ\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2016/01/07/0107-steve-sarkisian-usc-tmz-3.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;USC&lt;/strong&gt; is blasting fired football coach&lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/person/steve-sarkisian/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Steve Sarkisian&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#160;in new legal docs ... saying he lied to the school about his battles with the the bottle.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;USC just filed a response to Sarkisian's $30 million lawsuit -- and in the papers the school claims he fed the public a bunch of lies when he claimed his employers were aware of his alcohol issues. Now SC is saying he NEVER admitted he had a drinking problem, or that he was an alcoholic.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Furthermore, the university says ... \"The truth is he denied ever having a drinking problem, but blamed his inability to perform the essential functions of his job on marital stress, lack of sleep, and anxiety.\" In the docs, obtained by&amp;#160;&lt;strong&gt;TMZ Sports&lt;/strong&gt;, the school says Sark told them he was taking meds for his anxiety.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;SC's legal response echoes&amp;#160;&lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2015/12/07/usc-sark-is-a-liar-never-said-he-was-alcoholic/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;a statement it issued back in December&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. This just puts them on the record with the court.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;We broke the story,&amp;#160;&lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2015/12/07/steve-sarkisian-sues-usc/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sarkisian said in his lawsuit&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#160;that Haden KNEW there was an alcohol problem because he made Sark sign a letter promising to get counseling, and avoid future embarrassing situations involving booze. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Sark sued for breech of contract, discrimination against his disability and several other things -- but USC believes the matter should have been handled in private arbitration, under the terms of his contract.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/07/steve-sarkisian-usc-lawsuit-alcoholic/>