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New details have emerged around the circumstances which may have led to former FAMU Athletics Director Kortne Gosha's sudden resignation last week. Rattler Nation has obtained a copy of Gray | Robinson law firm's four page letter providing the grounds for disciplinary actions against Mr. Gosha.
According to the Gray | Robinson letter "there is more than sufficient grounds for termination of Mr. Gosha's employment, for Cause , as defined in his employment agreement.
The letter sights a number of instances in which Mr. Gosha may have been deliberately dishonest or deceptive and took action without authority.
Peak Sports/UEN
In January of 2021, FAMU, at the request of the athletics department, entered into a Sponsorship and Advertising Sales Contract with Peak Sports MGMT (Peak). This agreement was reviewed by the General Counsel’s office and approved by the FAMU Board of Trustees.
The Agreement gave Peak the exclusive right to market and secure sponsorships and advertising agreements on behalf of FAMU.
The Agreement gave Peak the exclusive right to market and secure sponsorships and advertising agreements on behalf of FAMU.
"However, the agreement did not authorize FAMU to grant Peak the right to license FAMU’s media rights or content. Nevertheless, Gosha and his team began direct negotiations with Urban Edge Network (UEN) for FAMU to stream content from athletics events on UEN’s streaming network, HBCU League Pass. It appears however that a contract was never executed between FAMU and UEN.
Rather, Peak entered into a contract with UEN to provide FAMU content for HBCU League Pass. Emails indicate that Gosha was aware of the Peak/UEN agreement and that it allows UEN to stream FAMU content on HBCU League Pass without a properly approved licensing agreement with FAMU. Gosha’s actions in allowing PEAK to enter into the UEN agreement clearly violates University policy and constitutes a breach of the Agreement. "
According to the letter, "emails indicate that Gosha was aware of the Peak/UEN agreement and that it allows UEN to stream FAMU content on HBCU League Pass without a properly approved licensing agreement with FAMU. Gosha’s actions in allowing PEAK to enter into the UEN agreement clearly violates University policy and constitutes a breach of the Agreement. "
Race Car
Gosha authorized the licensing of FAMU trademarked logos on a race car owned by the NY Racing Team. Gosha did not have delegate authority to bind the University to this licensing deal, but proceeded to do so without executing a formal contract, the letter states.
Attempts to hire a track coach without HR approval
Without delegated authority to do so, Gosha extended an offer of employment to Phillip Butler for a vacant coaching position in the track and field program. Gosha failed to consult in advance with HR to arrange for advertisement of the position, or the conducting of a search process prior to making an offer of employment. Gosha also attempted to offer Butler a position different than what was later sent to HR, the budget office and the President’s office for approval.
Further, Gosha permitted Butler, without a university appointment or a contract, to take actions affecting official university business, schedule track activities, use a University email account, recruit student-athletes, and order equipment and apparel. Gosha also permitted Butler to access confidential information, including social security numbers and FERPA-protected student information.
NCAA violation
On February 28 and 29, 2022, the FAMU track team participated in a track competition at Clemson University. Per NCAA regulations, FAMU had the option to provide meals to the participating athletes by either giving each athlete a cash per diem for them to use to purchase their own meals or directly purchasing meals for the athletes. Emails indicate that Gosha was made aware that players would be receiving per diem payments. Notwithstanding, Gosha ordered food for the team on January 30, thereby causing FAMU to report a level III violation to the NCAA.
When confronted, Gosha claimed that it was the track coach’s failure to communicate whether the athletes were receiving per diem payments or actual meals that led to the violation.
However, emails between Gosha and the track and field coach indicated that Gosha directed the coach to ensure that meals were taken care of in advance of travel and the coach notified Gosha that the athletes would be receiving per diem payments.
Interestingly, a former FAMU Associate Athletic Director, Michael Johnson, also ordered meals for the athletes on February 28 and 29, even though he was no longer an employee of FAMU.
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