A group of exes Florida State Seminoles Basketball players have filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against their former coach, Leonard Hamilton, over unpaid promises of next-to-nothing damages totaling a whopping $1.5 million.
The lawsuit, filed in Leon County Circuit Court in Florida, includes six former Seminoles who allege that Hamilton, a 37-year-old head coach with a career in… Oklahoma State and Miami before taking the Florida State job in 2002, each promised $250,000 in nothing payments through “business associates,” according to Yahoo Sports.
The plaintiffs are Darren Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Camron Fletcher, DeAnti Green, and Jalen Warley.
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Florida State Seminoles guard Primo Spears, No. 23, talks with Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the second half at Capital One Arena. (Jeff Burke-USA Today Sports)
However, the lawsuit stated that the players did not receive any money despite Hamilton making public promises during two team meetings as well as one-on-one conversations with some players and their families.
In fact, some players were transferred to the Seminole program under the guarantee that they would receive no compensation.
The lawsuit also provides text threads between the players, as well as threads between the players and Hamilton. Will Quinn, an executive with one of Florida State's NIL groups, is also in text threads with the players.
What makes this lawsuit even more interesting is that the players claim they were “walked out of the gym” during practice before the team’s Feb. 17 game against Duke out of frustration over unpaid NIL money. They also claimed they would boycott the match, although Hamilton discovered that plan and allegedly told the players the money would be in their accounts the following week.
Florida State eventually played the game, losing to Duke 76-67.
Florida State Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton on the sideline against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at McCamish Pavilion. (Brett Davis – USA TODAY Sports)
“We support Coach Hamilton’s right to defend himself against these accusations and look forward to a prompt resolution of this matter,” the university said in a statement. Via ESPN.
This lawsuit may be unprecedented, but this is not the first time fans have heard about NIL compensation being the root of the right between the player and the program.
There was Matthew Sluka At UNLV, Who suddenly left the football team as the starting quarterback because his coach promised him a $100,000 deal that was never received. Then, there was Jaden Rashada, the former Florida Gators quarterback, who sued head coach Billy Napier for an unpaid $13 million payout without anything he promised during the recruitment.
In this case, four of the players have since transferred away from Florida State due to lack of compensation, while the other two players are no longer eligible to play collegiately.
Florida State Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton looks on against the LSU Tigers during the first half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Photos by Stephen Law-Imagine)
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“Each player on the 2023-24 FBA men’s basketball roster relied on the promises made by Hamilton when they decided to either transfer to FBA or remain registered with FBA and play the season,” the lawsuit says via Yahoo Sports. “However, as the season continued, many players, including the plaintiffs, became extremely frustrated by the continued failure to deliver on the countless promises made by Hamilton.”
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