Back in March the college football world got a brief shock when Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was suddenly fired following an investigation into alleged bullying within the program. Now, Taylor is looking to get some payback (literally, if he can help it).
On Thursday, Taylor announced that he will be filing a defamation lawsuit against ESPN for the network’s role in his March dismissal.
The lawsuit accuses ESPN of pushing a damaging narrative through false claims in service to destroying his career. The March 2025 article in question cited investigations from 2023 and 2024 in the wake of complaints that Taylor bullied female staff members.
Back in April, Taylor released a statement denying the allegations against him and pointing out that Stanford even admitted that they had fired him without cause. While he didn’t explicitly vow revenge against ESPN at the time, he did call the network out in his statement.
“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 April.
From former Stanford Coach Troy Taylor on his dismissal. pic.twitter.com/GMPpbIdmVr
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) April 16, 2025
Football fans were largely dismissive of the story at the time and didn’t show much support to the Cardinals coach since Taylor wasn’t exactly super successful at Stanford. He went just 6-18 in two seasons at the helm.
“This guy is a joke. Go back to Sacramento where no one cares,” one user remarked on social media.
“Him leaving Sac State for Stanford knowing how hard it is to recruit for that school destroyed his reputation. Maybe Sac would be FBS right now if he stayed on for 2-3 more years,” another said.
“Sounds like he couldn’t bring in key support staff members he wanted, which would make one harbor resentment to a person you didn’t pick for your staff. Might have been some friction because of it which led to the Investigations on treatment,” a third mused.
© Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
If anything, the team seems a little more excited now with former NFL head coach Frank Reich at the helm, being supported by legendary Stanford alum Andrew Luck.
But that doesn’t make Taylor’s grievance any less serious.
That said, it looks like ESPN is primed to defend its March reporting. They declined to comment on the situation when asked by The Athletic.
Related: Stanford Football Reportedly Hires New Head Coach
