Bowling Green State University fired Chris Jans on Thursday after receiving a tip from patrons in a local bar that the men’s basketball coach was “sloppy drunk” and behaving inappropriately toward several women, including the daughter of the eyewitness who submitted an email and video to BGSU athletic director Chris Kingston.
The email language, posted verbatim at Deadspin.com, claims Jans grabbed the head of one woman and pushed it toward his crotch, then subsequently patted the buttocks of another woman and had her walk in front him so that he could evaluate her assets. The claim of buttocks patting was verified by the inclusion of video sent to Kingston and reproduced at Deadspin.
The sender’s daughter, a college student-athlete visiting BGSU on her brother’s birthday, approached Jans to express her disappointment in his behavior, to which Jans responded by calling her a “bitch,” according to the email.
In a letter of termination, obtained by SI.com, Kingston states, in part, “An obligation of your employment as the Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball team at the University was that you refrain from any activity or conduct that has the purpose or effect of reflecting unfavorably on the University, or causing embarrassment to the University, or otherwise detracting from its reputation, the reputation of the University’s athletic program, or the reputation of the Men’s Basketball program. Your breach of that obligation is grounds to terminate your employment for cause.”
Jans, the married father of two children, had only served one season of a six-year contract worth $325,000 annually. It was also his first season as a Division I head coach, turning around a program that had gone 12-20 in 2013-14 by posting a 21-12 record this season. His firing for cause will cost him the more than $1.6 million remaining on that contract.
