Penn State Wins NIL Defamation Suit Filed by Ex-Basketball Captain
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by former Penn State men's basketball captain Kanye Clary against the school and head coach Mike Rhoades because Clary failed to offer necessary specifics in his accusations.
Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann wrote that Clary did not 'identify the audience of the allegedly defamatory statements' and failed to include dates for some statements. Other statements weren't identified as false or were 'too vague' to support a viable claim, Brann wrote.
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Clary, a 5-foot-11 guard and former four-star recruit out of Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, VA), played two seasons at Penn State from 2022 to 2024. He transferred to Mississippi State for the 2024-25 season and will play at Oklahoma State in 2025-26.
Clary sued last December. He contends that Rhoades mistreated him in several ways. As Clary tells it, Rhoades 'dismissed' his concerns about 'lax discipline' and too much 'leniency' for teammates arriving late, showing disrespect and violating other team rules. As Rhoades objected to some teammates 'receiving preferential treatment,' he says he became the target of retribution.
The allegedly strained relationship between Clary and Rhoades played a role in Clary's NIL dealings or lack there-of. He says that in January 2024, his family reached out to Rhoades to question why Clary, who was the Nittany Lions' leading scorer in 2023-24, had no NIL deals. The family also suggested that Penn State and an affiliated collective, Happy Valley United, were illegally using his NIL in social media and marketing materials. That discussion, Clary contends, led to Rhoades sending him an NIL contract that would have been between the player and Happy Valley.
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Clary refused to sign since he believed the deal would have underpaid him. He insists the 'retaliation' against him only 'escalated' thereafter.
To make matters worse for Clary, he sustained a concussion during a game in January 2024. He says the concussion gave Rhodes additional 'ways' to punish him. He says Rhoades 'spread a false narrative' that Clary 'improperly missed classes' when (Claims claims) he was excluded due to recovery from his concussion. Clary also asserts that Rhoades suggested he was failing his classes when he was only missing one assignment because of concussion symptoms and that he wanted to transfer for NIL related reasons. Rhoades, the player adds, also said Clary improperly used the word 'bro' when 'the entire team and coaching staff used that term.'
Further, Clary refers to teammates overhearing coaches badmouth him 'behind his back' and believes the alleged badmouthing was 'at the behest of Coach Rhodes.' Clary's father, Anthony Clary, also claims that another coach relayed to him that Rhoades was slandering his son. Those alleged comments made it harder for Clary to transfer and the experience caused him to suffer from 'anger, resentment and depression.'
The defendants deny the allegations, but Brann wrote the more relevant legal issue is that Clary's complaint fails to adequately plead defamation. Under Pennsylvania law, Clary must allege specifics about the supposedly defamatory words, including the speaker, the date, to whom the statement was made and an assertion the statement was, in fact, false. Generalized assertions that someone else is saying reputationally harmful statements is not enough.
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To that end, Brann reasoned that Clary's assertions fail for one reason or another. For instance, Rhoades' allegedly claiming Clary was failing his courses lacks details as to whom those comments were directed and when they were made. Also, claims regarding use of the word 'bro' are not described in the complaint as untrue.
Brann provided Clary an opportunity to file an amended complaint by June 24. Whether Clary can offer the necessary specifics remains to be seen.
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