NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A settlement has been reached in the ABC News defamation lawsuit filed by former St. Augustine High School football coach Nathaniel Jones, Jones’ lawyer told WGNO on Friday.
According to court documents, a settlement was reached on Wednesday, March 9 between the broadcasting company and Jones. Read the full document below.
While details of the entire settlement were not made public, attorney Willie Zanders, Sr. commented on the lawsuit, saying:
“The matter has been resolved amicably and to the satisfaction of all parties. We encourage the remaining defendants, St. Augustine High School and Roland Sebastian Martin, to follow ABC’s lead and negotiate an amicable settlement. Otherwise, the fight for justice continues.”
Attorney Willie Zanders, Sr. on behalf of Nathaniel Jones
The incident dates back to October 2019, when a video surfaced of St. Aug football players and an assistant coach doing a “pre-game” chant using a racial slur.
Although Jones, who was the head coach at the time, was not in the room at the time, he was later fired by the school.
The same day the video surfaced, ABC News published an online article titled “High school football coach fired after using racial slur in pre-game chant.”
Jones later filed a lawsuit, claiming damages for breach of employment contract and defamation of character.
Other defendants in the lawsuit included:
- St. Augustine High School, Inc.
- School president and CEO Kenneth St. Charles
- Roland Martin Unfiltered Productions
- Roland Sebastian Martin (a celebrity media personality)
Wednesday’s settlement only pertained to ABC News. The progress of the remaining lawsuits is unclear.