Coaches often feel inclined to make public statements about their team’s performance. Earlier this month, former Kansas State Men’s Basketball head coach Jerome Tang found himself in hot water with the national media after harsh comments about the Wildcats’ performance in a blowout loss to Cincinnati.
In the days after Tang’s comments, Kansas State made the decision to fire him “for cause.” The institution cited recent comments by and conduct from Tang, alleging that he was violating his contract, according to Front Office Sports.
Kansas State making Tang’s firing “for cause” effectively allows them to avoid paying his roughly 18-million-dollar buyout. According to the employment contract provided by Kansas State University Athletics, “for cause” includes “objectionable behavior” and “sole reasonable judgment of the athletic director.”
The employment contract having a broad view of what constitutes a “for cause” firing is something that favors the institution in this case. Kansas State is viewing Tang’s harsh public comments as contract-violating conduct, while Tang is asserting that what he did was well within typical coach behavior and necessary for leadership.
From a legal perspective, Jerome Tang has the opportunity to seek legal action. It is possible for him to argue that the comments he made did not meet the definition of “cause” according to his publicly available employment contract with Kansas State, shifting the termination to “without cause” and triggering liquidated damages up to roughly 18 million dollars. From either side’s angle, a court could be asked to issue a declaratory judgment to provide clarity on whether the “for cause” termination was valid.
Jerome Tang was in his fourth season as head coach for Kansas State Men’s Basketball when he was terminated. The team’s success has decreased over his tenure, with the infamous loss to Cincinnati seemingly being the tipping point.
Publicly, Jerome Tang has disputed the “for cause” characterization of his termination, according to ESPN. He has declared that he will fight his firing. WIBW, local news in Topeka, Kansas, has indicated that this dispute could lead to litigation over whether Kansas State University properly invoked the “for cause” portion of Tang’s contract.
Thanks for shining light on this unique scenario, Nikko