TULSA, Okla. — Some Oral Roberts University alumni have said they wished a dispute between university officials and several former professors could have been resolved without a lawsuit, but the plaintiffs' attorney said he unsuccessfully tried to handling the issue privately before going to court.

Former professors John Swails, Tim Brooker and Paulita Brooker filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the private university on Oct. 2, claiming they were fired or forced to resign after alleging that President Richard Roberts illegally involved the college in a political campaign.

Their legal petition also alleges the Roberts family misspent ORU money and misused ORU resources for itself, along with accusing Roberts' wife, Lindsay, of spending a great deal of time with an underage male. The ex-professors claim that turning over the report to the board of regents got them fired.

"Although I see this could be helpful in forcing them to hold everything up to the spotlight, all of this could have been done without all the drama," alumnus and ORU Alumni Association board member Gene Gregg said. "... It's concerning that the school is now in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons."

ORU and its attorney, Jack Santee, declined to comment.

Gary Richardson, attorney for the former professors, said he met with Santee and suggested a discussion to resolve the dispute privately, but said he moved forward with the lawsuit after ORU didn't respond to his suggestion after three weeks.

The biblical idea of mediation is practical "if they'll talk to you," Richardson said. "We couldn't get them to talk to us."