Jerome Tang and PTI Credit: © Scott Sewell-Imagn Images / Pardon the Interruption
By Sam Neumann on

Jerome Tang got fired in part because of how his postgame rant looked on national TV.

Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor announced Sunday night the school was parting ways with Tang and firing him for cause, citing language in Tang’s contract about bringing “embarrassment” to the university. When Taylor explained the decision during a late-night press conference, he made clear the national reaction to Tang’s comments about his players — including criticism on shows like Pardon the Interruption — factored into why Kansas State decided to act now rather than wait until the end of the season.

“There’s language in his contract that addresses certain things that could potentially bring embarrassment,” said Taylor. “Basically, his comments about the student-athletes and the negative reaction to those comments from a lot of sources, both nationally and locally, is where I thought we needed to make the decision.”

Jerome Tang ripped his players during a postgame press conference Wednesday night following Kansas State’s 91-62 home loss to Cincinnati. The Wildcats’ head coach told reporters, “These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform,” and said, “There will be very few of them in it next year.” He added that “they don’t love this place, so they don’t deserve to be here” before cutting the press conference short after taking just two questions.

Within hours, the clip had escaped Manhattan and taken on a life of its own. And by Thursday evening, it was leading the A-block on Pardon the Interruption, where Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon took Tang to task.

Kornheiser pointed out that Tang is in his fourth season at Kansas State, meaning he didn’t inherit any of the current roster. “Who recruited these people? Didn’t Tang recruit these people?” Kornheiser asked. “He’s in his fourth season. So, he didn’t inherit any of these people. So, if mistakes are made, errors of judgment, they are his errors of judgment.”

Wilbon went further, saying Jerome Tang crossed a line that could justify termination.

“If I was the president of the university, I would call Coach Tang, and I’d say, ‘So, you’ve got until the TV trucks get here at five o’clock for local news, to get down in something purple with a logo, and walk this back. That’s how long you’ve got. Because I will also terminate you for cause, and there may not be a buyout of [$18,675,000]. And I think he’s probably a really good coach too, but you can’t go this far.”

Wilbon invoked former Georgetown coach John Thompson’s guidance that players are “somebody’s children,” regardless of whether they’re getting paid through NIL deals. “Tang has to remember that, or he might have to go,” Wilbon said.

Three days later, Tang was gone.

Taylor confirmed during his Sunday night press conference that he’d been monitoring the national reaction to Tang’s comments and that he had decided they violated the terms of Tang’s contract. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the basis for the for-cause firing is language in Tang’s contract referencing any activity that brings “public disrepute, embarrassment, ridicule” to Kansas State.

Tang, for his part, is already pushing back. In a statement released through The Field of 68 and shared by Jeff Goodman, he disputed the university’s characterization of his conduct.

“I am deeply disappointed with the university’s decision and strongly disagree with the characterization of my termination. I have always acted with integrity and faithfully fulfilled my responsibilities as head coach. I am grateful to the players, staff, and fans who make this program so special. I remain proud of what we built together and confident that I have always acted in the best interests of the university and our student-athletes.”

For now, Tang is out at Kansas State effective immediately. Whether he ultimately gets his $18.67 million buyout will be determined by lawyers arguing over whether his postgame rant — and the national reaction to it —rose to the level of conduct that violated his contract.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann