MANHATTAN — Kansas State University athletic director Gene Taylor said he was “very concerned” about Jerome Town’s postgame comments after the Wildcats’ Feb. 11 loss to Cincinnati, leading him to decide to fire the men’s basketball coach “with cause.”
Taylor met with reporters on Sunday, Feb. 15, about an hour before the school officially announced it was parting ways with Don, who is in his fourth season as coach. Tang said in a statement that he plans to fight the university’s “with a career” label. If he is fired without cause, he will be owed $18.675 million.
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Taylor said he made the final decision on Saturday, Feb. 14, while the Wildcats were playing third-ranked Houston, a game they lost 78-64. He informed Don of his decision on Sunday.
Taylor cited Don’s postgame press conference after the team’s 29-point loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 11 at Bramlage Arena as part of the reason for his firing.
“There are some clauses in his contract that could cause embarrassment,” Taylor said. “Basically, his comments about student-athletes and the negative reaction to those comments from national and local sources is where I feel a decision needs to be made.”
Jerome Tang’s press conference becomes centerpiece of ‘with cause’ firing
Don’s press conference after the Wildcats’ loss to Cincinnati went viral, with multiple national media outlets criticizing the coach’s statement. After Don led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in his first season, the coach was already considered a favorite due to the Wildcats’ decline over the past three seasons.
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Clips of Don’s outburst were featured on SportsCenter and Pardon The Interuption, as well as being shared on major social media platforms and accounts. Don has criticized his team several times this season, but never came out stronger than after the loss to the Bearcats.
“It was so embarrassing,” Don said of the team’s performance Wednesday. “These guys don’t deserve to wear this uniform, and there’s going to be so few of them wearing this uniform next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans and our student section. It’s ridiculous.”
Gene Taylor decides to fire Jerome Don during Houston game
These comments did not sit well with Taylor, who spent the next few days thinking about Don’s future as leader of the project. When he talked to Don about the press conference, he tried to figure out why he did it. Don told him he “would fix it.”
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Taylor didn’t give him that chance. Combining Don’s comments with the Wildcats’ downward trajectory and the team’s recent performance after a 5-0 start to the season led Taylor to inform K-State President Richard Linton of his decision on Saturday.
Taylor said Don was allowed to coach the Wildcats in their loss to Houston because he was “out of town” and couldn’t get everything sorted. He said he made the decision and spoke with Linton as the game progressed.
“It was just a combination of things,” Taylor said. “That’s when I realized that the things he said about student-athletes really concerned me.”
Don Jerome meets with Kansas State basketball players on Sunday
Taylor said he informed Don on Sunday of his decision to fire him for cause. He said much of the day was spent discussing how the school would make the final decision.
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Don was allowed to meet with the team and inform them of the circumstances of his dismissal. Taylor followed up by asking Matthew Driscoll to serve as interim coach before meeting with the staff.
“I just tell them what’s going to happen,” Taylor said. “It’s tough; it’s an emotional thing. They’re shocked, they’re sad, they’re angry. I’m just asking them, if they’re angry, they should be angry at me, and I’m asking them to finish the year well for the program, for Coach Don and the staff.”
Jerome Down says he will fight ‘with cause’ dismissal
Minutes before Taylor’s press conference Sunday night, Don released a statement via multiple national college sports insiders. He told them he planned to fight the language of the cause.
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“I am deeply disappointed with the school’s decision and strongly disagree with the decision to terminate me,” Tang said in the statement. “I have always acted impartially and faithfully performed my duties 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 believe my actions were always in the best interest of the university and its student-athletes.”
Asked about Don’s plans to fight the profiling, Taylor said: “I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer, so I guess at this point, it’s going to be in their hands and we’ll see where it goes.”
Don compiled a 71-57 record during his career at Kansas State University. The Wildcats are 10-15 overall and 1-11 in Big 12 play with six games remaining in the 2025-26 Big 12 Tournament.
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Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State track and field for the USA TODAY Network and the Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987, or email wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital Journal: Why Kansas State says it fired Jerome Town for a reason
