Fans react to Jerome Tang's departure from Kansas State

Jerome Tang had the storybook start to his career at Kansas State. Just a season after taking over for a struggling Bruce Weber, the Wildcats were on the complete opposite end of where the story began.

First it was an Elite Eight run and a dance to an infamous song by hit rapper Lil Baby, and the next thing anybody knew, he was fired for cause and is no longer the head coach at K-State.

Fans weighing in on the decision to part ways with the fourth-year head coach

Tang drew a good amount of attention for the dance that he did in the student section after the Wildcats' home victories. As of Sunday night and into the early hours of Monday morning, the same fan base on X is letting him have it.

One post in particular called Tang out by name, showing a video of former New York Jets safety Jamal Adams trying to enter the team facility with the caption "Jerome Tang tomorrow morning."

Another mentioned former Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall, saying "I hear Gregg Marshall is available."

Marshall, who has been out of the spotlight since 2020, was fired for cause by the Shockers for allegations of abuse after an investigation into claims made about his conduct.

A third parody account poked fun at Tang's situation, comparing it to breaking up with someone because they "peaked in high school."

Athletic director Gene Taylor weighs in on 'concerning' comments about athletes

Fans weren't the only ones who made their voices heard on Sunday, but they were certainly the only ones who didn't seem disappointed with the decision.

Following the decision to fire Tang, athletic Director Gene Taylor also spoke to the media.

What he said about the student-athletes really concerned me,” Taylor said. “He talked about, ‘I’m going to get this fixed,’ and that was his thought process."

It was Taylor who had the final say in the decision to part ways with Tang, going as far as to tell the players to be angry at him if they needed someone to blame.

"They're shocked, they're sad, they're angry." Taylor said. "I just asked them to, if they're angry, they should be angry at me."

What ultimately led to the decision

Following the Wildcats' 91-62 loss to Cincinnati, Tang spoke on his team's effort. He was quoted saying "these dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform," and "there will be very few of them in it next year."

He followed up the statement saying that he wasn't the only one who was embarrassed, and that the feeling went far beyond just the fans who cheer on the team.

"I'm embarrassed for the university, I'm embarrassed for our fans, our student section [and] it is just ridiculous." Tang said.

Those comments alone were enough to cause the department to act, firing him with cause and moving forward with interim coach Matthew Driscoll.

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