Mike Anderson to Sue St. John's over 'For Cause' Firing as HC amid Rick Pitino Rumors
Former St. John's men's basketball head coach Mike Anderson will sue the school after he was fired for cause, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf.
Meanwhile, the program is in "serious" talks with Iona's Rick Pitino to succeed Anderson in the role, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel.
According to Medcalf, St. John's termination letter to Anderson after it fired him March 10 said he was let go because of a "failure to create and support an environment that strongly encourages student-athletes who are in the men's basketball program to meet all university academic requirements."
Additionally, it cited a "failure to perform your duties and responsibilities in a manner that reflected positively on St. John's University ... in actions [that] brought serious discredit" to the school, as well as a "failure to appropriately supervise and communicate with your assistant coaches."
Because he was fired for cause, St. John's no longer owed Anderson the $11 million he was due to receive. He told Medcalf he will file an arbitration lawsuit and argue he was wrongfully terminated.
"I vehemently disagree with the university's decision to terminate my contract for cause," he said in a statement to Medcalf. "The for cause accusation is wholly without merit and I will be aggressively defending my contractual rights through an arbitration process."
The 63-year-old went 68-56 in four years as the St. John's head coach, failing to reach the NCAA tournament. His tenure wasn't without controversy, as his former assistant Steve DeMeo sued him and the school for wrongful termination in 2021.
Pitino, 70, would be a high-profile replacement. The former Hawai'i, Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville head coachโand current Iona head honchoโhas an 834-293 record with 23 tournament appearances, seven trips to the Final Four and two national championships.
In three seasons at Iona, he's gone 64-22 with two regular-season championships, two conference tournament championships and two NCAA tournament appearances.
