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Former Penn State Basketball Player Kanye Clary Enters Transfer Portal

Clary, who has sued Penn State regarding his 2024 dismissal from the team, spent one season at Mississippi State.

Mark Wogenrich

Former Penn State basketball player Kanye Clary drives the ball to the basket as Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper defends during a 2024 Big Ten game at Bryce Jordan Center.
Former Penn State basketball player Kanye Clary drives the ball to the basket as Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper defends during a 2024 Big Ten game at Bryce Jordan Center. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
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Former Penn State basketball player Kanye Clary, who is suing the university after being dismissed from the team in 2024, has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season at Mississippi State, according to Rivals. Clary entered the portal Monday, the first day it opened for basketball players.

Clary played in seven games for Mississippi State this season, averaging 18 minutes and 6.3 points per game. He sustained a season-ending injury in November. According to the Clarion Ledger, Clary stopped attending Mississippi State games during the SEC season.

Clary transferred to Mississippi State after two seasons at Penn State, where he played guard and was the team's leading scorer during the early part of the 2023-24 season. Penn State coach Mike Rhoades dismissed Clary from the team in February 2024, calling it a "coach's decision." Clary was the team's leading scorer at the time, averaging 16.7 points per game.

In November 2024, Clary filed a lawsuit against Penn State, Rhoades, the NIL collective Happy Valley United and other parties for defamation, restraint of trade and unjust enrichment, among other claims. A claim of racial discrimination was dropped.

In the lawsuit, Clary said that, beginning in December 2023, he was a "victim of intimidation, retaliation, slander, illegal of use of his Name, Image and Likeness and ultimately suspension from the
basketball team as retribution for speaking out against various injustices that the players have
faced from the coaching staff."

Clary's suit alleges that Rhoades dismissed him from the team on "unfounded and meritless grounds." It also claims that Rhoades spread "false rumors" about Clary that he was failing classes. Further, Clary's suit alleges that the NIL collective's "refusal to properly deal with" Clary prevented him from being "compensated for use of his Name, Image, and likeness in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act."

Penn State is asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed. "Nowhere in the Complaint does Plaintiff allege the existence of a false/defamatory statement uttered by Penn State and/or Rhoades to a third party that resulted in special harm to Plaintiff," Penn State's January motion to dismiss read in part.

The motion also states that Clary made a "vague and scattershot pleading" that "in no way addresses the timing or purpose of the alleged defamatory conduct, nor any of the other required elements to support a finding of vicarious liability."

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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