In the aftermath of Kansas State‘s ugly 91-62 loss to Cincinnati this past week, head coach Jerome Tang went on a now-viral rant where he absolutely ripped his team to shreds and promised that a lot of them would not be back next season.
As it turns out, he will not be back next season, either. Or the rest of this season.
According to multiple reports on Sunday evening, including from Jeff Goodman, The Athletic and ESPN, Kansas State has fired Tang.
Kansas State fires head coach Jerome Tang just days after media meltdown
Tang was livid following the home loss on Wednesday and did not hold anything back in criticizing his team, going as far to say they did not deserve to wear the uniform.
“These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year,” Tang told reporters. “I’m embarrassed for the university, and I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is just ridiculous. We’ve got practice at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, and we will get this thing right. I have no answer and no words.”
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Tang is being fired with cause due to a clause in his contract that references him doing anything that brings “public disrepute, embarrassment, ridicule” to the university.
“I am deeply disappointed with the university’s decision and strongly disagree with the characterization of my termination,” Tang said in a statement provided to ESPN. “I have always acted with integrity and faithfully fulfilled my responsibilities as head coach.”
His contract reportedly had a buyout of more than $18M.