Former Kansas State basketball HC Jerome Tang fighting for cause firing with Trinidad Chambliss’ lawyer

The Kansas State basketball program has been a disaster this season. The Wildcats are 10-15 and 1-11 in Big 12 play, and the performance led to the administration firing head coach Jerome Tang. However, part of the reason Tang was fired now rather than after the season was a viral postgame rant he gave after a blowout home loss to Cincinnati. The school wants him fired for cause, but he is fighting back.

Kansas State decided to fire Jerome Tang for cause due to language in his contract that references any activity that brings “public disrepute, embarrassment, ridicule” to Kansas State. The viral rant prompted the firing after he said he was embarrassed by the performance and that most of his players won’t be here next year. In an attempt to fight the allegation, Tang retained Tom Mars and Bennett Speyer as his attorneys.

Mars told ESPN, “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.”

Tom Mars has been actively involved in NCAA-level cases recently, including helping Trinidad Chambliss win an extra year of eligibility to play quarterback at Ole Miss.

Chambliss was fighting for a sixth year of eligibility, arguing that he struggled to see the field in his second year at Ferris State. The NCAA kept denying his requests, but a judge finally ruled in favor of Chambliss this past week.

Instead, thanks in part to Mars’ representation, a judge ruled that Chambliss clearly met the criteria for a sixth season under a medical redshirt after he dealt with respiratory issues during his second year at Ferris State.

Tang is in for a fight with Kansas State. On the court, it has been a steady fall for the Wildcats under his leadership. He led Kansas State to the Elite Eight in his first season, winning 26 games — the program’s most since Bruce Weber’s first season in 2013. The Wildcats couldn’t sustain the momentum of Tang’s first season, though, struggling in Big 12 play, missing the NCAA Tournament in Year 2, and finishing 16-17 last season.

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