Judge dismisses lawsuit filed against FAMU by former athletics official

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

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

Johnson filed a lawsuit in December 2022, alleging that he was retaliated against after he blew the whistle on alleged equipment theft and other misdeeds, and that Alexander groped him and subjected him to sexually explicit texts and videos of himself.

FAMU denied that Johnson was 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 directed the clerk to submit his judgment and close the file on the case.

“This matter is resolved by summary judgment,” Winsor said in a succinct conclusion. “All of the plaintiff’s claims are dismissed on the merits. The plaintiff will accept nothing.”

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

Federal court documents show their texts were often sexual in nature.

In his subsequent lawsuit, Johnson alleged that Alexander created a hostile work environment through unwanted sexual advances, including once slapping him on the backside and once groping him in the locker room.

At a May 6 hearing, Winsor heard arguments from Susan Spradley, an Orlando shareholder of GrayRobinson, PA, and one of FAMU’s attorneys, and Marie Mattox, a Tallahassee attorney who represented Johnson.

Spradley told Winsor that Alexander’s behavior was “not unwelcome” and was not connected to the university.

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

But Mattox said that FAMU was in fact aware of the sexual harassment allegations before Johnson was fired.

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

In his subsequent injunction, Winsor systematically denied all of Johnson’s claims, including those of whistleblower retaliation, disability discrimination and sexual harassment.

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

“First,” Winsor wrote, “Johnson’s text messages with Alexander demonstrate a friendly and reciprocal dialogue spanning several months. The report contains more than 350 pages of messages in which the two encourage each other, wish each other well, and hint at sexual messages sent via the Signal app.”

Winsor added that Alexander sent Johnson explicit photos and a video of himself, behavior he said “would undoubtedly be serious if unwanted.” But the judge said “the record suggests that Johnson sent similar content to Alexander.”

The firing ended Johnson’s lawsuit against former FAMU athletic director Korne Gosha, who also sued the university for wrongful termination. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed Gosha’s lawsuit in April.

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

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