Northwestern hoops player files antitrust lawsuit against school

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#7      
coryfor3
Cubby Blue said:
The cash payment thingy is the eye catcher here. Not surprised it all happened. Chrissy is no angel. He needs to be interviewed by Rome calling him Chrissy. :D
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Vassar not playing with anyone right now?
 
#8      
coryfor3
chiefinillini7 said:
it will be interesting to see who comes out and follows suit...
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IDK- an antitrust theory here seems a bit far fetched. Though interesting...
Wasn't the suit filed years ago by Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett based on antitrust concepts? It seems that was a better antitrust case and was not successful so I can't see this one going far.
 
#9      
Illinoy
Antitrust laws are merely consumer protection laws that attempt to regulate unfair competition. I'd have to assume this is based upon Vassar's claim that Northwestern conspired to make him ineligible for scholarship through the internship they gave him along with the falsified timesheets. There must be a reason his legal council chose to utilize the antitrust route versus other traditional torts as they might have some elements more difficult to prove. Nonetheless, I'm just as confused as many others on this board.
 
#10      
whovous
One could argue the entire athletic scholarship system, with its restrictions on free movement from school to school, substantially restricts competition and thus runs afoul of antitrust laws. This attorney has other suits against the NU sports program, so we could likely learn more by looking at them.

My gut tells me that Vassar signed something when he left, and that the school will rely heavily on that document in rebutting the factual allegations here. I would also bet they say Vassar falsified timesheets, not them.

Full disclosure: This is all speculation on my part. I am not an insider and don't know a thing about the actual facts of this case.
 
#11      
Deleted member 10676
MOB was tweeting about this last night. Link is to an article that might shed a little more legal light on this. A couple reactions above it.

[FONT=&quot]Brian Snow ‏@BSnowScout 5h5 hours ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'm sure the roughly 16 HS coaches that Johnnie Vassar had throughout his career are laughing with today's news...[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jesse Kramer ‏@Jesse_Kramer 16h16 hours ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Chris Collins declines to comment on the Johnnie Vassar situation. “We’ll handle it behind closed doors."[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Michael O'Brien ‏@michaelsobrien 16h16 hours ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Johnnie Vassar (who almost attended Morgan Park) has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and Northwestern: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161114006651/en/Hagens-Berman-NCAA-Northwestern-University-Hit-Antitrust …[/FONT]
 
#12      
ILL_INI
miketherevelator said:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161114006651/en/Hagens-Berman-NCAA-Northwestern-University-Hit-Antitrust …
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I figured they were looking for a settlement from Northwestern, who might agree to keep things quiet. But after reading the press release (above), I'm not so sure. The suit isn't against just the school. They are going after the NCAA, too. Bolded comments below make me wonder if anyone else joined this suit.

“We see this destructive double-standard again and again – non-student-athletes are free to transfer and are eligible for a new scholarship without waiting a year. Coaches often transfer to the tune of a hefty pay raise,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and lead attorney representing the class of athletes. “But meanwhile, student-athletes are penalized and forced to sit out a year before they can play elsewhere. The NCAA needs to level the playing field for these thousands of kids who face undue punishment under its senseless bylaws.”
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#13      
Deleted member 10676
There's another suit filed about the one year transfer rule. Eventually -- it may take a while -- but eventually it's going to be over turned and there will be free agency in college sports. I compare it to the reserve clause in MLB. Owners thought that was never going away, and then it did.
http://www.barkingcarnival.com/2016/9/12/12883144/how-a-punter-could-change-the-ncaa-forever
This case may be a sign the shift away from the transfer rule is inevitable. As Jeff Goodman of ESPN notes, NCAA basketball coaches overwhelmingly believe the rule’s days are coming to an end sooner than later, and the problems the coaches see pervades every level of D-I. High-major coaches — well, not Calipari, because of course he’s not — are worried about every off-season being a free-for-all on their bench players, mid-major coaches are worried about high-majors poaching the undiscovered gems that keep mid-major coaches employed, and low-major coaches are worried about never gaining relevance. The basketball transfer market is already double the size it was a few years ago, and striking down the transfer rule would likely exacerbate the logistics of managing a roster for college coaches everywhere.
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#14      
Ransom Stoddard
http://www.yardbarker.com/college_b...e_was_forced_out_of_program/s1_13156_22424929
Since Collins took over Northwestern’s basketball program in the spring of 2013, multiple players have transferred or left the program. In December of that year, big man Mike Turner would officially exit the program after taking a leave of absence in September. Just a matter of weeks later in January of 2014, center Chier Ajou would transfer.

Following that season, forward Kale Abrahamson would transfer as well. During that one year under Collins, he developed a rocky relationship with his head coach, he told Inside NU.

And, along with Abrahamson, former walk-on Aaron Liberman left the program that spring. He has since signed a non-disclosure agreement with Northwestern, keeping him from divulging any details of what went on during his time under Collins.

Then, during the 2014-15 season, walk-on Nick Segura left the program before the season finished. He later told Inside NU, “Sometimes the coaching staff would make me feel like I wasn’t part of the team.”
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Sounds like Chrissy's doing some Creaning, eh?
 
#15      
TCTORNADO
I find it interesting that Kipper Nichols name pops up in paragraph #39. It states that the "extra" scholarship could have maybe been used on him. NW was involved in his recruitment out of HS. They were quoting NW bloggers, which was sort of strange.
 
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