Ex Stanford Football Coach Suffers Another Loss

A former Stanford football coach continues to take blow after blow. After losing his job as the head football coach last year over toxic workplace allegations first reported by ESPN, Troy Taylor took to court to sue the prominent sports outlet for defamation. For months, Taylor fought to get some sort of restitution from the reports that cost him his Division I coaching job.

Nearly a year later, the case finally came to a close, but not in the way that Taylor had hoped. Late last week, a federal court dismissed the defamation lawsuit that Taylor filed against ESPN and reporter, Xuan Thai, citing that ESPN's reflected facts given by two Stanford-affiliated investigations.

Taylor was fired on March 25, 2025, right before spring practice, after allegations came out that he belittled and bullied staffers, particularly female employees of Stanford football.

Taylor's court complaint focused mainly on headlines, photos, captions and other characterizations that made it appear that the Stanford investigators firmly concluded that he bullied and belittled the female staffers and asserted that both investigations—which occurred in 2023 and 2024—did not conclude anything.

Federal Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi found that ESPN's reporting correctly reflected what was found in the investigation.

"The salient point of defendants' reporting is that the 2023 investigation found that Mr. Taylor engaged in misconduct toward female staff in the workplace," DeMarchi wrote in her ruling to dismiss Taylor's case. "That is a substantially true characterization of the 2023 investigation's and 2024 investigation's findings."

"Approving ESPN's request to dismiss Taylor's lawsuit," DeMarchi added. "As none of the statements challenged by Mr. Taylor are defamatory as a matter of law, Mr. Taylor's complaint fails to state a plausible claim for defamation."

Taylor, who took over the Stanford job from longtime coach David Shaw, was hired by the program ahead of the 2023 season after a successful tenure at Sacramento State.

He finished his three-season tenure with the Hornets with a 30-8 record and only one loss in conference play. But his time at Stanford was the polar opposite, going 6-18 in two seasons in charge (3-9 in 2023 and 3-9 in 2024).

Since getting fired by the Cardinal, Taylor has been out of football. And while he was brought up as a potential candidate for the Sacramento State job opening again, the job ultimately went to Alonzo Carter.

Now, Taylor will look for another chance to be on the sidelines for a prospective college program. Given the allegations and the very public dismissal of his court case, it may be difficult to find a fit in the near future.

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