The father of former Yale men’s basketball captain Jack Montague told the New Haven Register on Thursday that Montague has been expelled from the University.

Montague’s status was changed to “withdrawn” on his academic record over three weeks ago, and on Feb. 24, Yale sports publicity sent out a press release stating that Montague would not return to the team. Until Jim Montague’s statement, no one had specified the nature of Montague’s departure from Yale College.

“We have strict orders from our lawyers,” Jim Montague told the Register while explaining he had been advised not to comment. “Soon enough, I’d love to tell the other side of the story. It’s ridiculous, why he’s expelled. It’s probably going to set some sort of precedent. We’re trying to do things the gentleman’s way, so we’re keeping things close-knit. But you guys will get a story.”

No University administrators or members of the basketball program would comment on Jack Montague’s expulsion Thursday night.

Vice President for Communications Eileen O’Connor said she was unable to comment on the specifics of an individual’s status, as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits educational institutions from releasing a student’s private academic records without the student’s prior written consent.

Montague, who has not responded to requests for comment in over two weeks, could not be reached Thursday night. His last public statement came on Feb. 17, when he told the News he was taking a “personal leave.”

On Monday, a week after Montague told the News he did not have a lawyer, a representative from the New Haven law firm Jacobs & Dow told the News that Jack Montague was a client at the firm. However, William Dow III ’63, a lawyer at the firm who has represented Yale students in the past, denied that the firm represents Montague to news organization Jezebel on Thursday.

Yale’s Undergraduate Regulations define an expulsion as a “permanent separation from the University” that will be recorded on the individual’s academic transcript. An expulsion may be imposed by either the Yale College Executive Committee or recommended by the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct, according to the regulations.

The regulations do not state whether a student who has been expelled can be reinstated to the University. If a student withdraws when facing pending disciplinary charges, the student is not eligible for reinstatement, re-enrollment or a Yale College degree.

Montague’s information was removed from Yale’s online directory and Yale Facebook midweek. A student may elect to remove his or her information from the two databases.

DANIELA BRIGHENTI
MAYA SWEEDLER