A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former athletics administrator who alleged he was wrongfully terminated by Florida A&M University and sexually harassed by then-state Rep. Ramon Alexander, touching off a scandal that unraveled his political career.
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor granted FAMU’s motion for summary judgment against Michael Johnson, who served as associate athletic director from May 2020 until his termination in January 2022.
Johnson sued in December 2022, alleging he was retaliated against after blowing the whistle on alleged equipment thefts and other wrongdoing and that Alexander groped him and subjected him to sexually charged texts and explicit videos of himself, Jeff Burlew of the Democrat reported.
FAMU denied Johnson had been wrongfully fired and said it had no connection to the allegations involving Alexander, a 2007 graduate with influence at the university.
Per Burlew's reporting:
In August 2021, Johnson began interacting with Alexander, then a three-term Democratic lawmaker from Tallahassee. The two exchanged texts for several months.
Their texts were often sexual in nature, according to federal court records.
In his later lawsuit, Johnson alleged Alexander created a hostile work environment through unwanted sexual advances, including slapping him on the rear end on one occasion and groping him inside a locker room on another.
Winsor wrote that it was questionable whether the conduct Johnson alleged was “sufficiently severe” to sustain a sexual harassment claim and whether Johnson actually saw Alexander’s behavior as “hostile or abusive.” The judge noted that Johnson had invited Alexander to download the Signal app, which automatically deletes messages
“For one,” Winsor wrote, “Johnson’s text messages with Alexander show a friendly and reciprocal dialogue for several months. The record includes over 350 pages of messages, with the two encouraging one another, wishing each other well and hinting at sexual messages sent through the Signal app.”
Winsor added that Alexander sent Johnson explicit photos and a video of himself, conduct he said would be “unquestionably severe when unwelcome.” But the judge said “the record suggests Johnson sent similar content to Alexander.”
The dismissal marked an end to litigation involving Johnson and FAMU's former athletic director, Korne Gosha, who also sued the university alleging wrongful termination. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed Gosha's lawsuit in April.
Related: Judge Dismisses Former AD's Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Florida A&M
