Judge tosses lawsuit filed against FAMU by former assistant athletics director

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former athletic official at Florida A&M who alleged he was wrongfully terminated by the university and sexually harassed by then-state Rep. Ramon Alexander, touching off a scandal that unraveled his political career.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor granted FAMU’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by Michael Johnson, who served as associate athletic director from May 2020 until his termination in January 2022.

Johnson sued in December of 2022, alleging he was retaliated against after blowing the whistle on alleged equipment thefts and other wrongdoing and that Alexander groped him and subjected him to sexually charged texts and explicit videos of himself.

FAMU denied Johnson had been wrongfully fired and said it had no connection to the allegations involving Alexander, a 2007 graduate who wielded influence at the HBCU. Winsor dismissed Johnson's claims on the merits on May 28, several weeks after a motion hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tallahassee.

In his 23-page order, Winsor instructed the clerk to enter his judgment and "close the file" on the case.

“This case was resolved at summary judgment," Winsor said in a tersely worded conclusion. "All plaintiff’s claims are dismissed on the merits. Plaintiff shall take nothing.”

In August 2021, Johnson began interacting with Alexander, then a three-term Democratic lawmaker from Tallahassee. The two exchanged texts for several months.

Their texts were often sexual in nature, according to federal court records.

In his later lawsuit, Johnson alleged Alexander created a hostile work environment through unwanted sexual advances, including slapping him on the rear end on one occasion and groping him inside a locker room on another.

During a May 6 hearing, Winsor heard arguments from Susan Spradley, Orlando managing shareholder of GrayRobinson, P.A., and one of FAMU’s attorneys, and Marie Mattox, a Tallahassee attorney representing Johnson.

Spradley told Winsor that the Alexander’s conduct was “not unwelcome” and wasn’t tied to the university.

“It has nothing to do with FAMU,” she said.

But Mattox said FAMU, in fact, knew about the sexual harassment allegations before Johnson was fired.

“The timeline is really important,” she told Winsor.

In his subsequent order, Winsor systematically shot down all of Johnson’s claims, including whistleblower retaliation, disability discrimination and sexual harassment.

Winsor wrote that it was questionable whether the conduct Johnson alleged was “sufficiently severe” to sustain a sexual harassment claim and whether Johnson actually saw Alexander’s behavior as “hostile or abusive.” The judge noted that Johnson had invited Alexander to download the Signal app, which automatically deletes messages

“For one,” Winsor wrote, “Johnson’s text messages with Alexander show a friendly and reciprocal dialogue for several months. The record includes over 350 pages of messages, with the two encouraging one another, wishing each other well and hinting at sexual messages sent through the Signal app.”

Winsor added that Alexander sent Johnson explicit photos and a video of himself, conduct he said would be “unquestionably severe when unwelcome.” But the judge said “the record suggests Johnson sent similar content to Alexander.”

The dismissal marked an end to litigation involving Johnson and FAMU's former athletic director, Korne Gosha, who also sued the university alleging wrongful termination. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed Gosha's lawsuit in April.

Alexander, a sharp critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis, was in line to become Democratic leader in the Florida House and watching his national profile rise when the Tallahassee Democrat broke news of the allegations in May 2022. He apologized and announced two days later he would not seek re-election to a fourth term.

Contact Jeff Burlew at [email protected] or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Judge tosses lawsuit filed against FAMU by former athletics official