Judge recommends denying Tennessee track coach's injunction over defamatory songs

A report and recommendations filed today by Magistrate Judge Jill McCook (E.D. Tenn.) in Ross v. Lambert outlines a dispute between University of Tennessee Track & Field Head Coach Duane Ross and a former employee.

Background

According to the complaint:

• Plaintiff is a former collegiate track and field champion, 2004 Olympian, and the current Head Coach and Director of Track & Field at the University of Tennessee.
• In August 2022, Plaintiff hired Defendant as the track and field Recruiting Coordinator—a non-coaching, administrative position.
• Less than a year later, in May 2023, Plaintiff advised Defendant he was being terminated. Plaintiff offered Defendant the option of voluntarily resigning in lieu of being fired for cause, which Defendant accepted.

The Demand Letter

On May 30, 2024, Defendant sent a demand letter to the University of Tennessee's Office of General Counsel, threatening to sue the University and Plaintiff for "wrongful termination and discrimination" unless he received $150,000.

Plaintiff alleges the letter contained "patently false and inflammatory allegations," including:

• Past Misconduct: Claims that Plaintiff received a two-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for using performance-enhancing drugs, disqualifying all results since November 2, 2001, and that his involvement in the BALCO steroid case "further underscores his troubled past."
• Family Issues: Allegations that Plaintiff's son, Randolph Ross Jr., was suspended for doping violations through June 30, 2025, for whereabouts failures and tampering with an email, with the letter asking: "Where do you think he learned that from?"
• Athlete Violations Under His Watch: Claims that under Plaintiff's leadership at North Carolina A&T, multiple top athletes faced suspensions for doping, including Grace Nwokocha, and that Plaintiff used an athlete not cleared by the NCAA, resulting in forfeited team titles and performances.
• Character Assessment: Statements that Plaintiff "is not representing your brand appropriately" and "has proven to be a liability rather than an asset to the University."

The University rejected Defendant's demand.

The Songs

Plaintiff alleges that on or about March 3, 2025—less than two weeks before his team began competing at the 2025 NCAA Indoor National Championships—Defendant, under the pseudonym "G. Fury," released two songs on Apple Music and Spotify:

• "Vault Talk"
• "Recruiter to Parent"

Plaintiff claims both songs contain defamatory lyrics impugning his character, including allegations of drug use by Plaintiff and his athletes. Defendant also published these songs in a public Facebook group called "The Real Deal Track & Field Group."

In early-to-mid March 2025, Defendant released three additional songs, including "Laws of Attraction," which Plaintiff says targeted him with "false and disparaging allegations of scandal and fraud." Defendant later sent this song to Plaintiff via text message.

On March 13, 2025, Defendant published another nine-track album titled "To C.A.P" on Apple Music and Spotify. Plaintiff alleges that a majority of the songs on the album are directed at him and contain "untruthful, derogatory and offensive statements" about him.