KLMNO

StyleMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016 . WASHINGTONPOST.COM/STYLE EZ SU C

BY PEGGY MCGLONE

They are heartbreakinglysmall, these rough-hewn ironshackles with openings that arejust 21/2 inches in diameter. Theyare menacing, too, their five-pound bulk disturbingly heavy forthe tiny wrists they confined. De-spite their small size, they delivera gut punch by summoning thehorror and humanity of the slavetrade in a way that no historytextbook could ever do.

The shackles are among thethousands of items that will be onview at the National Museum ofAfrican American History and Cul-ture when it opens Sept. 24. Theseartifacts will tell stories of slavery,Reconstruction, segregation and

thecivilrightsmovement.Museumofficials anticipate tears, sighs andeven some anger as visitors pro-ceed through the galleries.

Thevisitorexperiencehasbeenapriority from the beginning, ad-dressed in the design of the build-ing,theorganizationofexhibitions,andthetextandvideos thatsupple-ment the displays. And now, withlessthansixmonthstoopening,theeffort turns to the front lines, to thestaff and volunteers who will inter-act with visitors.

“Not a lot of [other institutions]are taking on, head on, one of themost difficult things society is fac-ing today, which is the history ofour country and how that impactstoday,” said Esther Washington, themuseum’s director of education.

“Theideaof lettingpeoplesitwithalittle bit of discomfort is somethingwe have to do because of the storieswe have in the museum.”

Louise Lawrence-Israëls knowsfirsthand about the difficulty oftalking about race, identity andsocial justice. The 73-year-oldBethesdaresident isavolunteeratthe U.S. Holocaust Memorial Mu-seum, where for 22 years she hasencountered a range of responses,from shock to tears to surprise.The work is exhausting — thoughshe doesn’t notice until she getshome after a day of tours or talks.

“It is not tiring for me when I’mdoing it. It’s uplifting,” she said.“It’s so important that you canmake an impact on people. People

EMOTIONS CONTINUED ON C3

BY CAITLIN GIBSON

For touring artists opposed toNorth Carolina’s “bathroom bill,”a complicated question looms:

To boycott or not to boycott?Bruce Springsteen, Ringo

Starr, Ani DiFranco and authorSherman Alexie are among thosewho have opted to cancel theirappearances as a show of opposi-tion to a new law that requirestransgender people to use publicbathrooms that match the gen-der they were assigned at birth.

Others, including Cyndi Lau-per, Duran Duran and comedianJoel McHale, have decided toforge ahead with their Tar HeelState events and use their time inthe spotlight to support localLGBT advocacy groups andspeak out against the law.

So which is the right call?What has the greater impact —an artist’s presence or absence?

In Springsteen’s case, he de-cided that scrapping the concertwould make the biggest waves:“It is the strongest means I havefor raising my voice in oppositionto those who continue to push usbackwards instead of forwards,”he wrote in a statement an-nouncing his cancellation.

But his decision drew a back-lash of its own, as the GreensboroColiseum reported that it would

BOYCOTT CONTINUED ON C4

THE RELIABLE SOURCE

The Taste of the Southcharity gala had a crowdof 2,000 partying withgusto until 1 a.m. C2

MUSIC REVIEW

Hugh Wolff led Anne AkikoMyers and the NationalSymphony in works bycomposer Mason Bates. C8

BOOK WORLD

L.S. Hilton, right, has oneof the year’s most-talked-about thrillers in the sexy,well-written “Maestra.” C3

KIDSPOST

Search our article aboutWilliam Shakespeare forsome of the words andphrases he gave us. C8

BY NEELY TUCKER

montgomery, ala. — In the mortuary ofdisaster that is Alabama politics, it is impor-tant to note that Gov. Dr. Robert J. Bentley isstill in charge, for now.

The 74-year-old balding grandfather and starof sexy phone chats to the senior politicaladviser three decades his junior is accused ofbeing at the center of a complex web of deceit,betrayal and mendacity that falls somewherebetween the better parts of the Old Testamentand the steamy Southern plays of TennesseeWilliams.

Nor is it, by any means, over.Reporters hound Bentley at his every ap-

pearance, asking about his $1,800 burnercellphones and the use of a state helicopter topick up his forgotten wallet. “I’m the governor.And I had to have money. I had to buysomething to eat,” Bentley said last Thursdayby way of explanation.

The state House is expected to vote nextweek to set up an impeachment committee,and the lieutenant governor has been blunt:She’s ready to take over as soon as she’s needed.

The state’s former top cop, Spencer Collier,plans to file a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit nextweek. Once a staunch ally of Bentley, he claimsthe governor sacked him because he refusedan illegal order to not cooperate with a grandjury investigation involving the speaker of theHouse, who goes on trial next month on 23felony counts of ethics violations.

As calls for the conservative Republican’sresignation mount, the various investigationsunderway are heading into “it’s not the crime,it’s the coverup” territory.

“Robert Bentley should not be sitting in thegovernor’s office,” says Allen Farley, the Re-publican House member who last year askedthe state attorney general’s office to investi-gate Bentley’s use of state resources to carryout his alleged affair. The woman in questionis Rebekah Caldwell Mason, 44, a marriedmother of three.

“He’s the state of Alabama’s spokesperson,our representative,” Farley said in an inter-view. “And this is someone I want negotiatingon behalf of the state? I don’t think so.”

When Bentley was first elected in 2010, heALABAMA CONTINUED ON C5

MATTHEW HINTON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Gov. Robert Bentley, aboveat a 2013 ceremony in

Mobile, could faceimpeachment proceedings

in the wake of an allegedaffair with his former senior

political adviser. Probesinto his conduct and a

potential lawsuit from aformer ally also loom.

The heartache of Dixie

Scandals haveroiled Alabama

politics time andagain, but the

darkest blot of allmay come fromits soft-spoken

governor

African American museum designed with emotions in mind

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Small shackles are among the artifacts that will be on display atNational Museum of African American History and Culture.Some design aspects of the museum, which opens in September,are intended to help visitors deal with their emotions.

Artists withN.C. tours:Skip out orspeak out?

BY ANNE MIDGETTE

Michael Tilson Thomas hasbecome an eminent conductor,entering his eighth decade with-out ever fully having outgrownhis air of the enfant terrible. Asmusic director of the San Fran-cisco Symphony for the past twodecades, he has become knownfor unusual projects, such as asignature “American Mavericks”series that has included mem-bers of the Grateful Dead, or hisrather brilliant reimagining ofthe Beethoven Missa Solemnis,which I was able to see in SanFrancisco last year.

This last project shows thekind of unusual interpretivechoices he sometimes wants tomake in the standard repertoire,which remains (as it does forvirtually all professional conduc-tors, however offbeat) his breadand butter. His Washington Per-forming Arts appearance withthe orchestra at the KennedyCenter on Saturday afternoonalso focused on these choices, togreater and lesser effects.

Rather than contemporaryAmericana, the concert featuredtwo Viennese masterworks,Schubert’s “Unfinished” Sym-phony and Mahler’s “Das Liedvon der Erde” (“The Song of theEarth”), Mahler being another

MUSIC CONTINUED ON C2

MUSIC REVIEW

A maverickconductor’stoo-coolMahler

JOEL RYAN/INVISION/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cyndi Lauper will use herappearance to criticize the law.

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU C5

Television

FINALE WATCH: In theSeason 1 finale of “Supergirl”(CBS at 8 p.m.), National City’shero battles an unexpectedadversary in her fight to save theplanet.

The celebrity contestants willface an added challenge whenthey swap partners on thisweek’s “Dancing With theStars” (ABC at 8). Dance proMaksim Chmerkovskiy appearsas a guest judge.

FINALE WATCH: As “CrazyEx-Girlfriend” (CW at 8) wrapsup its first season, Rebecca findsher relationships with Paula,Josh and Greg in a precariousstate, leading to some awkwardmoments at Josh’s sister’swedding. Broadway singer LeaSalonga guest-stars.

Still at odds with her motherafter last week’s misguidedbachelorette party, Jane looks fora new babysitter for Mateo on“Jane the Virgin” (CW at 9).Michael volunteers, but Rafaelgets jealous of the bond he forgeswith Mateo.

RETURNING SHOW: In theSeason 2 premiere of “12Monkeys” (Syfy at 9), Cole andRamse repair their friendshipwhile on the run from the Armyof the 12 Monkeys. In the year

2043, Railly and Jones confrontan uncertain future as Deaconand the Twelve assume power ofthe Temporal Facility. BrendanCoyle of “Downton Abbey” guest-stars.

FINALE WATCH: Jimmy isforced to make a difficultdecision in the Season 2 finale of“Better Call Saul” (AMC at 10).After the episode, “TalkingSaul” (AMC at 11) will help youdissect what just happened.

Filmed over three years, thedocumentary “IndependentLens: Democrats/SoftVengeance” (WETA at 10)follows Zimbabwe’s challengingattempt to draft its firstdemocratic constitution.

Democratic presidentialcandidate Hillary Clinton is on“The Late Show With StephenColbert” (CBS at 11:35), alongwith actor Jesse Tyler Fergusonand actress-singer KatharineMcPhee. Sturgill Simpsonperforms, and Wayne Shortersits in with Jon Bastiste and StayHuman.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABCat 11:35) features actress EmilyBlunt, film and televisionproducer Jerry Bruckheimer andmusical guest Shinedown.

—Bethonie Butler

TV HIGHLIGHTS BROADCAST CHANNELS4/18/16 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30

4.1 WRC (NBC) ◆ News ◆ Hollywood ◆ The Voice (Live) (10:01) ◆ Blindspot News ◆ Tonight Show

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22.1 WMPT (PBS) ◆ Business Connect. Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow Doctor Blake Mysteries Antiques Connect.

26.4 WETA (PBS) PBS NewsHour Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow Independent Lens 30.1 WNVC (MHz) France 24 Programming France 24 Programming A French Village A French Village Look of a Killer

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50.1 WDCW (CW) ◆ Mike & Molly ◆ Mike & Molly ◆ Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ◆ Jane the Virgin News ◆ Seinfeld Two Men Two Men

66.1 WPXW (ION) ◆ Criminal Minds ◆ Criminal Minds ◆ Criminal Minds ◆ Criminal Minds ◆ Criminal Minds

CABLE CHANNELS A&E The First 48 The First 48 Bates Motel (10:05) Damien (11:06) Bates Motel AMC (6:46) Better Call Saul (7:47) Better Call Saul (8:53) Better Call Saul Better Call Saul (11:05) Talking Saul Animal Planet Insane Pools: Deeper Dive Insane Pools: Deep End (9:01) Tanked Tanked: Celebrity Scoop (11:03) Epic Pools BET (5:00) Movie: This Christmas Martin (8:35) Martin (9:10) Martin (9:44) Martin (10:18) Martin (10:52) Martin (11:26) Martin Bravo Southern Charm Southern Charm Southern Charm Real Housewives-Dallas Happens Southern Ch. Cartoon Network We Bare Gumball King of Hill Burgers Burgers Cleveland Amer. Dad Amer. Dad Family Guy Family Guy CNN Erin Burnett OutFront Anderson Cooper 360 Anderson Cooper 360 CNN Tonight CNN Tonight Comcast SportsNet NHL Hockey: Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers (Live) Capitals Capitals SportsTalk SportsNet Redskins Comedy Central Futurama Futurama South Park South Park South Park South Park South Park South Park Daily Nightly Discovery Street Outlaws: NOLA Street Outlaws: Full Throt Street Outlaws: NOLA (10:01) Misfit Garage Street Outlaws: NOLA Disney Best Friends Girl Meets Movie: Another Cinderella Story (2008) Stuck/Middle K.C. Under. Bunk’d Austin & Ally Girl Meets E! E! News Botched Botched I Am Cait E! News ESPN Baseball Tonight (Live) MLB Baseball: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals (Live) SportsCenter (Live) ESPN2 E:60 NFL Live Rookie SportsCenter SportsCenter SportsCenter E:60 ESQTV CSI: Crime Scene Parks Parks Parks Parks Parks Parks Boundless Food Network Diners, Drive Diners, Drive Cupcake Wars Cake Masters Chopped Chopped Fox News Greta Van Susteren The O’Reilly Factor The Kelly File Hannity The O’Reilly Factor Freeform (5:30) Movie: The Blind Side ★★★ (2009) Movie: Steel Magnolias ★★★ (1989) ◆ The 700 Club FX (5:30) Movie: World War Z Movie: 47 Ronin ★★ (2013) Movie: 47 Ronin ★★ (2013) Hallmark Last-Standing Last-Standing Last-Standing Last-Standing The Middle The Middle The Middle The Middle Golden Girls Golden Girls HBO Movie: The Divergent Series: Insurgent ★★ (2015) Movie: We Are Your Friends ★★ (2015) Huntsman Vinyl HGTV Love It or List It Listed Sisters Tiny Tiny Hunters Hunters HGTV Smart Home History Swamp People Swamp People Swamp People Iron-Fire Iron-Fire (11:03) Alone Lifetime (6:00) Movie: Sister Act Movie: Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit ★★ (1993) (10:32) Movie: The Preacher’s Mistress MASN MLB Baseball: Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins (Live) Nats Bensinger ESPNWS MLB Baseball MSNBC Hardball Matthews All In With Chris Hayes Rachel Maddow Show The Last Word All In With Chris Hayes MTV Teen Mom 2 Teen Mom 2 Teen Mom 2 Teen Mom 2 Teen Mom Catfish Nat’l Geographic Port Protection Wicked Tuna Wicked Tuna Port Protection Wicked Tuna Nickelodeon Thundermans Thundermans Nicky, Ricky Paradise Run Full House Full House Full House Full House Friends Friends Spike Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Syfy (6:30) Movie: G.I. Joe: Retaliation ★★ (2013) 12 Monkeys Hunters Bitten TBS Family Guy Family Guy Family Guy Amer. Detour Family Guy Family Guy Full Conan TCM Curse of Cat TCM Movie: None but the Lonely Heart ★★★ (1944) Movie: The Spiral Staircase ★★★ (1946) Movie: Pinky TLC Two in a Million Conjoined Twins: Miracle Separation Anxiety Bubble Skin Man Two in a Million TNT (6:00) Terminator Salvation NBA Basketball: Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder (Live) NBA Basketball: Rockets at Warriors Travel Bizarre Foods America Delicious Delicious Bizarre Foods/Zimmern Hotel Impossible Bizarre Foods America TruTV Imp. Jokers Imp. Jokers Imp. Jokers Imp. Jokers Imp. Jokers Imp. Jokers truInside Late Snack Late Snack TV Land Andy Griffith Andy Griffith Everybody Loves Raymond Raymond Raymond Raymond Raymond King King TV One Justice By Any Means Justice By Any Means Fatal Attraction Justice By Any Means Fatal Attraction USA Network Mod Fam Mod Fam WWE Monday Night RAW (Live) Chrisley Chrisley VH1 Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Love, Hip Hop Black Ink Crew Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Black Ink Crew WNC8 News News News News Sports ◆ ABC News News News News WGN Outsiders Person of Interest Person of Interest Underground How I Met How I Met

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Kara (Melissa Benoist) faces her greatest challenge yet when twovillains threaten the planet in the season finale of “Supergirl.”

was a popular, soft-spoken der-matologist, a devout Baptist dea-con, a father of four and grandfa-ther of eight, and married for ahalf-century. He said he wouldn’ttake his $120,000-a-year salaryuntil the state reached full em-ployment, and he hasn’t.

One year into his second term,he is divorced, estranged from hisfamily, expelled from his church,ostracized by his party, pilloried bythe public and at the center of analleged sex and abuse-of-powerscandal that may drive him fromoffice.

“It’s like King David and Bath-sheba in the Old Testament,” saysJohnny Mack Morrow, a Demo-crat from rural Franklin County,another former ally of the gover-nor turned harsh critic. “Or may-be like Percy Sledge’s song, ‘Whena Man Loves a Woman.’ ”

On a leaked phone recordingthat went viral, the septuagenari-an governor tells Mason explicitlyof his yearnings.

“You’d kiss me? I love that. Youknow I do love that. You knowwhat? When I stand behind youand I put my arms around you,and I put my hands on yourbreasts, and I put my hands onyou and pull you in real close.Hey, I love that, too.”

The governor has admitted toan “inappropriate relationship.”Both have denied a physical af-fair. Throughout it all, he contin-ues to insist he did nothing ille-gal.

The Southern politician withan outsize personality and appe-tites to match is by turns a stapleand cliche of the region. LyndonB. Johnson in Texas, Huey P. Longand Edwin Edwards in Louisiana,Theodore Bilbo in Mississippi,Bill Clinton in Arkansas — the listis as long as one wishes to make it.

And the Roll Tide/War Eaglestate that likes to advertise itselfas the Heart of Dixie is, after all,accustomed to state-capital she-nanigans. Big Jim “Bait a Trapwith a Blonde” Folsom presidedas governor here, as did George“Segregation Forever” Wallace.

More recently, backwoods-preacher-turned-governor GuyHunt (R) was convicted of crimesin office in 1993. Gov. DonSiegelman (D), in office a decadelater, was convicted of briberyand is still serving time.

In Montgomery, people aren’tsurprised to have a governormired in a sex-and-power scan-dal. They’re just astonished thatit’s Bentley.

Tall and thin, possessed of amild manner and quiet disposi-tion, he named his four sons after

ALABAMA FROM C1 biblical apostles. He came to thestate capital as a legislator in2002, at 60, the oldest freshmanRepublican legislator elected inthat cycle.

He struck up a friendship withCollier, at 32, the youngest fresh-man Republican elected thatyear. Bentley made no waves. Hedid not go out on the town.

He certainly did not impressanyone as a ladies’ man. SteveFlowers, the state’s veteran politi-cal commentator and author of“Of Goats and Governors: SixDecades of Colorful Alabama Po-litical Stories,” compares Bentleyto Goober and Gomer Pyle, small-town unsophisticates in the long-ago television series set in theSouth. Mark Childress, the novel-ist from Monroeville and authorof “Crazy in Alabama,” indepen-dently suggested the milquetoastshop owner Sam Drucker in “Pet-ticoat Junction.”

“He was a just good, moralperson,” said Morrow, the Demo-cratic representative, “decent, lik-able, very low key. He and hiswife, Dianne, they were goodpeople.”

Collier and Bentley held simi-lar political views and becameclose friends over eight yearstogether in the legislature, in afather-son sort of way, Collier saidin a news conference after he wasfired. They and their wives oftenhad dinner after political confer-ences. When Collier’s father diedafter years of mental illness anddementia, he and Bentley prayedtogether.

When Bentley won an upsetbid for governor in 2010, part ofhis appeal was the straight-arrowfamily man (notwithstandinghim legally changing his name sothat Dr. was right there on theballot). Well-off but not wealthy,he lived simply and tended todress in khakis. He made hispledge to forgo his salary andreleased his tax returns even be-fore he was elected as evidence ofhis transparency.

He was pro-gun, pro-businessand pro-church, and anti-immi-grant and anti-new-taxes, all pop-ular positions in Alabama. But atthe start of his second term, heswitched directions on taxes andcalled for a $500 million increase,stunning his Republican col-leagues. He has since been viewedas increasingly out of touch.

And in that second term, Ma-son, an accomplished broadcastjournalist, moved up from hiscommunications staff to becomehis senior political adviser.

No longer paid by the state, shewas president of her own compa-ny, RCM Communications, andserved on a consultant basis as

the governor’s senior political ad-viser. She was paid from cam-paign funds — a total of $500,000over four years — and the sourceof those campaign donations was

not known. This meant that noone was entirely sure who wasindirectly paying her.

Collier, Morrow and other leg-islators noticed that the governor

began to be hard to reach. Hestarted dressing more sharply.Mason began to be seen aroundthe legislature as the gatekeeperto the governor, holding swayover his opinions. The recordedconversations reveal the intensityof their relationship.

“You know, I worry aboutsometimes I love you so much, Iworry about loving you so much. Ido. I do,” he can be heard saying.“I feel like, all the time I’m think-ing, ‘How can I contact her? Howcan I call her? How can I text her?How can I be in contact with her?How can we do this?’ ”

“He just fell in love, bless hisheart,” says Flowers, the colum-nist. “He was like a little school-boy with a crush.”

This was not a secret, Colliersays, to the governor’s staff, fam-ily or close observers. The gover-nor’s wife filed for divorce shortlyafter he was sworn in for a secondterm in January 2015.

Flowers says Mason and Bent-ley called him to Bentley’s officein December to chew him out fora column he’d written monthsearlier, when the governor’s di-vorce was finalized, about therumors about their relationship.

“She took control of the meet-ing and started browbeating me.. . . The governor was sitting thereabout to cry, saying he hadn’tseen his family at Christmas,”Flowers said. “She was going onfor 15 minutes. . . . I felt reallysorry for him. He was trying totalk at me, but she was too busydoing it.”

The whole messy affair blew upon March 22 when Bentley firedhis longtime friend from his postas the highly respected executivedirector of the 1,400-member Ala-bama Law Enforcement Agency.Collier, 44, then said he had seenand investigated text messagesand audio “of a sexual nature”between Bentley and Mason. Thegovernor, through a spokeswom-an, denied the allegations.

A few hours before Collier’sstatement, the governor’s ex-wifegave the sex-spiced recordings toYellowhammer News, a conserva-tive website that promptly madethem available to the world.

A week after that, Mason re-signed. She is still married to JonMason, a former TV weathermanwho continues to serve the gover-nor in a cabinet-level position ashis head of faith-based initiatives.She is no longer a member of theTuscaloosa First Baptist Church:Like the governor, she was kickedout.

Mason declined interview re-quests for this report. But she didemail WHNT-TV after the record-ings went public. She blasted

critics as good ol’ boy sexists.“There are those who are bent

on hindering women’s abilities towork in politics. I have dealtrepeatedly with those obstacles inmy career, and continue to suc-ceed in spite of those efforts,”Mason wrote. “It’s disappointingthat a working mom can’t simplydo her job and do it well withoutinviting unwarranted criticism.”

Before and after the uproarthat has followed, the state audi-tor and four legislators, includingseveral fellow Republicans, filedseparate requests asking thestate’s ethics and criminal justiceagencies to investigate the gover-nor’s conduct. A fifth legislatorfiled an impeachment motion lastweek. Rumors swirl in Montgom-ery’s political circles of a federalinvestigation.

“We’re all very disappointed inthe governor’s activities and ac-tions,” Kay Ivey, the lieutenantgovernor, said in an interviewTuesday with the student news-paper at Auburn University, heralma mater. “They speak forthemselves. It saddens me thatthe highest office in the land isreceiving such low marks rightnow.”

Meanwhile, the governor’strain wreck is hardly the only oneon the political tracks in Ala-bama.

Eighteen months after he wasindicted on allegations of usinghis office for personal gain andsoliciting things of value, HouseSpeaker Mike Hubbard, a power-ful leader in the state RepublicanParty, is finally going on trial.Bentley is expected to be a wit-ness. Should impeachment pro-ceedings come to pass, theywould be overseen by state Su-preme Court Chief Justice RoyMoore, who was removed fromoffice in 2003 for defying federalorders to remove a stone monu-ment of the Ten Commandmentsfrom the rotunda of the state’sJudicial Building.

Voters reelected him anyway in2013.

“If I sent this story to my fictioneditor,” says Childress, the novel-ist, “she would send it back andtell me to make it more realistic.”

Morrow, the veteran legislator,reflects on the plight of the cen-tral character in the story, hisbiblical fall from grace and hispersistent defiance.

He does not think this is goingto end well.

“Robert is just not strongenough a person for this,” he said.“It’s only going to get worse. He’strying to go out and do businessas usual, and people are not goingto let him. We’re a laughingstock.”

neely.tucker@washpost.com

Elected partly on his family-man image, Bentley faces a mighty fall from grace

DAVE MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABOVE: Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, center, has admitted to an“inappropriate relationship” with aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason,left, but says he did nothing illegal. BELOW: The state’s former topcop, Spencer Collier, seated, plans to sue Bentley, who fired him.

ALBERT CESARE/MONTGOMERY (ALA.) ADVERTISER VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS