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Jack Montague’s lawsuit against Yale is settled and withdrawn, but who won?
- Updated: June 28, 2019
Jack Montague’s lawsuit against Yale is settled and withdrawn. But who won and who lost? The answer is “Who Knows?”
By Joel Alderman
The three-year-old lawsuit brought by ex-Yale basketball captain Jack Montague against his former Ivy League university was quietly disposed of on June 24th after attorneys for both sides filed a stipulation (agreement) for the case to be withdrawn. No terms were revealed, except that each side would be responsible for the respective costs and fees it incurred.
Although Montague was suing for damages as well as readmission, it is not known if money was involved in what led to the stipulation. Each side may be bound to a confidentiality agreement.
In a departure from when the legal proceedings began, no press release was issued by either party.
The action came just weeks before the trial was to start. The former basketball captain was expelled in 2016 over allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied and claimed were consensual. He then sued in an effort to be readmitted.
Yale did release Montague’s transcripts to allow him to enroll at Belmont University of Nashville in his home state of Tennessee and resume his undergraduate work there.
The position changes
Leading up to a trial, which now will never take place, one of his attorneys, Max Stern, of Boston, earlier said “Jack Montague looks forward to presenting his case to the jury.” But that can no longer happen. Atty. Stern now says that the case has been “resolved.”
Asked whether a financial settlement would be made with Montague, Tom Conroy, the Yale spokesman, had no further comment on the litigation.
Who won? Who lost? Who Knows?
Montague was dismissed from the team toward the end of the 2016 season, amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he claimed were consensual. Even without the 3-point specialist in the lineup the Bulldogs won the Ivy League championship, the last time the conference winner received an automatic bid and before the league held a four team tournament. The team then went 1-1 in the NCAA tournament, with the then ex-captain in the stands at Providence, R.I., for at least one of those games.
Basketball highlight
The highlight of Montague’s career, which cannot be obliterated or forgotten by Yale hoop fans, was his buzzer beater from distance that upset the Univ. of Connecticut the year after UConn won the NCAA tournament.
Teammates had his back
In a show of support after he was dismissed from the squad, his teammates came onto the court for a pre-game warm-up wearing T-Shirts with YALE spelled backward. This caused controversy on campus, mostly from women’s activist groups, and the team then issued an apology.
But a few weeks later, when the Bulldogs clinched the Ivy title in New York against Columbia, several players, almost in defiance if not celebration, held up four fingers representing Montague’s uniform number. They had not forgotten his contributions toward their success.
Mum’s the word
With pre-trial motions having ended, the actual trial could have begun in a few weeks, probably at the Federal District Court in Bridgeport, Conn. Instead, Atty. Stern said in a statement, the parties “have resolved the case to their mutual satisfaction.” And Pat Noonan, a lawyer for Yale, had no comment.
According to his Linkedin page Montague received a Master of Accountancy degree from Belmont and has been a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty of Franklin, Tenn.
Nothing about basketball, but he is probably still adept at the three point shot.
