The legal battle between HBCU Florida A&M and former Director of Athletics Kortne Gosha has come to an end.
A federal judge dismissed Gosha’s claims that he was retaliated against and forced to resign after reporting misconduct at the university with prejudice, meaning the matter cannot be brought up again.
Gosha sued the university following his resignation in April 2022, claiming that he signed an agreement ‘under duress.’ U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed that claim on Tuesday.
“The record includes no evidence that gender, disability or whistleblowing had anything to do with it,” Hinkle said. “Instead, the record establishes, again beyond genuine dispute, that Dr. Robinson made the decision for three legitimate, non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory reasons, any one of which would be sufficient standing alone to defeat Mr. Gosha’s claims.”
The reasons given for his departure from the HBCU include a proposal to stream Florida A&M sporting events on the Urban Edge Network, the placement of FAMU signage on a NASCAR vehicle and an attempt to hire a women’s track coach.
“Mr. Gosha’s mishandling of those matters included a failure to keep Dr. Robinson (FAMU president) advised and to obtain his approval before moving forward as far as was done,” Hinkle wrote in his decision.
Kortne Gosha arrived at Florida A&M in Dec. 2019 after he spent the previous year as the associate athletic director for Facilities and Operations at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. Six months into his tenure, Gosha was the point man as FAMU made its move from the MEAC to the SWAC, creating a seismic shift in HBCU athletics.
He is currently the Deputy VP of Athletics at Tulane University.