Troy Taylor isn’t quietly fading away after his abrupt firing from Stanford. In fact, he’s going on the offensive.
The former Cardinal head coach filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday in the Northern District of California, targeting ESPN and reporter Xuan Thai over a March story that he claims was both false and professionally damaging. Taylor, who was dismissed less than a week after the article ran, says the narrative surrounding his exit has been misleading from the outset.
“The media’s recent portrayal of me is unfair, wrong, and contrary to my professional track record and the person I am and have always been,” Taylor said in a statement shared on social media in April.
The lawsuit, first reported by The Sacramento Bee, accuses ESPN of pushing a damaging narrative built on false claims, all with the goal of wrecking Taylor’s career. The article at the center of it all cited two previously unreported investigations from 2023 and 2024, launched after complaints that Taylor bullied and demeaned female staffers.
Taylor’s complaint points to ESPN’s own follow-up article from April, which noted that the university’s investigation began with a single complaint alleging gender bias and “a culture problem in football.” That same story also stated that three of four allegations — specifically relating to demeaning or inappropriate behavior toward women — were ultimately found to have merit.
Still, Taylor contends ESPN twisted the facts and misrepresented the process, costing him his job and damaging his name. The network hasn’t backed down, declining comment when contacted by The Athletic.
Now Taylor is seeking damages and a jury trial, claiming the fallout ruined his career. Stanford has already moved on, hiring former Panthers coach Frank Reich to take over the program on an interim basis for the 2025 season.
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.