Ex-Penn State men’s basketball player sues university, coach Mike Rhoades after dismissal
A former Penn State men’s basketball player claimed in a lawsuit he was dismissed from last year’s team as retaliation for speaking out against what he described as “various injustices” players faced from the coaching staff.
Penn State and coach Mike Rhoades asked for nearly all of Kanye Clary’s claims to be dismissed, telling a federal judge they take issue with the veracity, relevance and completeness of his allegations.
Clary filed the suit in November in Philadelphia’s court system, but it was transferred Tuesday to the federal district that covers Centre County. He’s seeking unspecified damages.
The team’s leading scorer was dismissed in February 2024. Rhoades did not elaborate on the guard’s dismissal, describing it at the time as a coach’s decision.
“It came to a point where we’re at where, as the head coach, I made a decision to move on,” Rhoades said during a press conference. “That’s where I’ll leave it.”
In his lawsuit, Clary cast his dismissal as “unfounded and meritless.” The filing included allegations that detailed how his relationship with Rhoades — who did not recruit him to Penn State — soured as the season unfolded.
Clary said he voiced concern about lax discipline and accountability for “certain players.” He alleged many players who violated team rules were granted leniency and never reprimanded.
Once those concerns about preferential treatment were raised, Clary claimed he received unfair treatment and was targeted by Rhoades. He alleged the retaliation escalated further once he refused to sign a name, image and likeness agreement that he believed would have paid him much less than he was due.
The lawsuit also included allegations Rhoades spread false rumors about Clary’s academic performance and slandered him when speaking to other coaches. He also claimed the university failed to properly put his documentation into an online database that lets student-athletes indicate they want to transfer to another school.
Clary ultimately landed at Mississippi State, where he played in seven games this season due, in part, to a lower leg injury. He’s averaged 6.3 points per game, down from the 16.7 points per game he averaged at Penn State.
The “slander” impacted Clary’s ability to find a school of his liking because it “created a false stigma that he was a problem student at PSU whereas he was simply doing his job as captain and calling out the injustices he witnessed and experienced,” Clary’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “This false narrative came into play at every subsequent school that Kanye visited and became the topic of every meeting, which made multiple teams decide not to sign him.”
Attorneys for Penn State and Rhoades pushed back in court filings, arguing Clary’s “vague and scattershot” allegations should be thrown out. A judge has not yet ruled on the university’s request.
Without Clary this season, Penn State went 16-15 in the regular season, including 6-14 in the Big Ten. It’s not yet known if the Nittany Lions will play in any postseason tournament.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM.