Former Penn standout Mike Jordan settles his lawsuit over his firing at Lafayette
Jordan sought $5 million in damages, claiming wrongful termination from his coaching job along with racial discrimination. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Mike Jordan, who was fired as the Lafayette men’s basketball coach in 2023, has settled his lawsuit against the college.
Jordan, a Germantown native who starred at Penn and is a member of the Big 5 Hall of Fame, was hired in March 2022, placed on administrative leave in February 2023, and ultimately fired a month later.
Jordan’s attorney, Riley H. Ross III, released a statement about the settlement on Monday: “Coach Jordan is pleased that he could reach an amicable resolution with Lafayette College and close this chapter as he is very eager to continue coaching the sport he loves.”
Lafayette College declined to comment to The Inquirer about the settlement.
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The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 14 in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claimed wrongful termination and racial discrimination. The suit claimed that “Lafayette College’s reason for termination was a pretext to terminate Coach Jordan without having to pay him what he was owed under his contract and a pretext for racial discrimination.”
Jordan, 46, sought $5 million in damages to match the salary from his five-year contract plus damage to his reputation. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
The coach was fired after a complaint from a player, which led to an internal investigation. In Jordan’s filing, he claims he was told in a letter from the college that his coaching was “too rigorous, and that his language around players was too harsh.”
Lafayette, in a court filing in response, said Jordan “verbally abused players including the use of terms that were sexist, racist and ableist; questioned the integrity of, and mocked, injured players who were following instructions of the medical staff; and retaliated against the student-athlete for voicing his concerns.”
In 2022-23, Jordan’s team went 9-20 (7-9 in the Patriot League) before he was fired with five games to go. Jordan was replaced on an interim basis by associate head coach Mike McGarvey, who later was named head coach. McGarvey led the Leopards to an 11-21 record in 2023-24, including a 10-8 record in the Patriot League.