Kansas State University has fired its head men’s basketball coach, Jerome Tang, for comments he made following a home court loss to the University of Cincinnati last week. The university claims these comments brought embarrassment to the school, a violation of Tang’s contract, allowing him to be fired “for cause” and lose his $18.7 million contract buyout.
According to CBS Sports, Tang’s comments were made at a press conference following a 91-62 loss against Cincinnati, earning the Wildcats their second-worst season record in more than 20 years.
“This was embarrassing. These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university. I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is ridiculous. We’ve got practice at six a.m. tomorrow morning and we will get this thing right,” said Tang in the now viral press conference.
In the days following that press conference and Tang’s firing, Kansas State University athletic director Gene Taylor released a statement.
"This was a decision that was made in the best interest of our university and men's basketball program," Taylor said. "Recent public comments and conduct, in addition to the program's overall direction, have not aligned with K-State's standards for supporting student-athletes and representing the university. We wish coach Tang and his family all the best moving forward."
But the four-year coach isn’t going quietly. The former coach has hired sports attorneys Tom Mars and Bennet Speyer to represent him in his fight to overturn the “for cause” designation in his dismissal. Tang seeks to recover some or all of the $18.7 million contract buyout and argues that he was fired “without cause.”
According to The Wichita Eagle, Tang’s contract with Kansas State states that he can be fired “for cause” if his actions bring “public disrepute, embarrassment, or ridicule” to the university. Athletic director Taylor believes that Tang’s viral comments reached that threshold.
“His comments about the student-athletes,” Taylor said, “and the negative reaction to those comments from a lot of sources, both nationally and locally, is where I thought we needed to make this decision. What he said about the student-athletes really concerned me.”
Mars and Speyer have not yet filed the lawsuit to fight Tang’s “for cause” firing, but Mars did publicly address the upcoming legal battle.
“If K-State’s President and AD really think the school was embarrassed by recent events, that’s nothing compared to the embarrassment that both of them are about to experience,” he said. “We’ll give K-State’s president and AD a few days to regain their senses before we pull the trigger.”
