Back to all newsCW sues ESPN for defamation on behalf of ex-Stanford football coach Troy Taylor
July 2025
On behalf of Troy Taylor, former Stanford head football coach, CW has filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court against ESPN. In March 2025, ESPN ran coverage of workplace allegations against Taylor, stating that two separate investigations had found that Taylor “bullied” and “belittled” female Stanford athletics staffers during his tenure at the university, yet failed to acknowledge key facts that contradicted the reporting. One week later, Stanford terminated Taylor from his position. Now, our complaint alleges that ESPN and the story's reporter made, published, and repeated defamatory statements about Taylor – knowing full well they were false – for the purpose of smearing Taylor’s reputation and injuring him in his profession.
Read media coverage from The Sacramento Bee and The New York Times.