Olson Divorce Papers Filed

By David Scott - December 07, 2007

The Tucson Citizen is reporting that Arizona coach Lute Olson (or his wife, Christine Toretti Olson) have begun divorce proceedings. On Thursday, Olson announced he would not coach this season, after missing the first month for the 5-2 Wildcats.

From Olson's official website, here is some familial background on the grandfather of 14:

Olson was married the former Roberta (Bobbi) Russell for 47 years. Bobbi passed away in January 2001. Olson has five grown children – daughters Vicki, Jody and Christi, and sons Greg and Steve – and 14 grandchildren.

On April 12, 2003, Olson married the former Christine Toretti of Indiana, Pa. She has three sons, Joe, 20; Max, 18; and Matthew, 15. The couple first met at the 2002 Final Four in Atlanta.

In 2003, prior to the couple's wedding, Olson spoke at length about his then-fiancee to the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

The inevitable "smoking gun" of why Olson - who is more than 20 years older than his bride - isn't coaching this season is now out in the open and it's up to the public and the media to decide how invasive the magnifying glass becomes. (The court papers were apparently filed on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.)

Remember though - we're dealing with two public figures here, not just one. Toretti is active in politics and her visibility offers up another section of interested parties to what could be an intriguing divorce proceeding.