national letter of intent

The News and Observer thursday sports page has a very interesting article about a basketball player who signed to play at WCU. When Kelli Harper, the coach at WCU left and took the job at NCSU, the kid (Kelsey Evans) wanted out of her deal with WCU and asked for WCU to release her to play for Elon. WCU said no.
Now the lawyers are involved.
The issue is a minor signing a contract.

Can someone please pull up the article and post it for all of us to see and comment on.

One thing is for sure, the ruling of this case will set a BIGTIME precedent in the recruiting world.
thanks,

Fishman

 

Contract

Not sure a kid under the age of 18 can enter into a legal binding contract.

 

College Athletics

As a former college football coach this is a rule that just needs to be rewritten.

Clause No. 19 in the NLI text expressly covers coaching changes: "I understand I have signed this NLI with the institution and not for a particular sport or individual. If the coach leaves the institution or the sports program (or is not retained), I remain bound by the provisions of this NLI. I understand it is not uncommon for a coach to leave his or her coaching position."

A lot of coaches who are applying to other places now tell their players to wait and just give a verbal commitment. "ie. John Wall" then they can sign once the job has been finalized .. However in many cases the school will just sign the release. Not that they necessarily have to, because the contract is binding. The athlete can attend another school, but their athletic rights are retained by the school for two years of non participation.

 

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1663855.html

Two things:

1) If the athlete is under 21 a parent must sign the NLI so not real sure what legal grounds they would have

2) Classic case of dont sign for the coach sign for the school. Thats recruiting 101

 

It's been so long ago that I can't remember, but doesn't it require the signing by the parent/guardian? If so, it's binding. No different than any minor entering into a busness contract--if signed by minor and their guardian, the contract is valid.

 

NLI

All Kelsey Evans wanted to do is play college basketball this winter. Now, her future is tied to a different kind of court.
The recent Wakefield High graduate is threatening to turn the National Letter of Intent system on its ear, at least within
the borders of North Carolina.



Kelsey Evans is trying to force Western Carolina to grant her a release from her letter of intent. - STAFF FILE PHOTO BY TED RICHARDSON .Buy-It-Now{ display: block !important; }





Evans signed to play for Western Carolina before the coach who recruited her, Kellie Harper, left for N.C. State. With Harper gone, Evans preferred to stay closer to home, at Elon, but Western has refused to release her from her letter of intent, so often a formality in situations like this. Her appeals denied, Evans is challenging the legality of the letter itself rather than sit out this season and lose a year of eligibility. "It's very clear that the athletic director at Western does not want to budge on this," said Lisa Evans, Kelsey's mother. "We have tried, in our opinion, absolutely everything to try to resolve this for the best for everybody."

Kelsey Evans filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wake County Superior Court asking for her letter of intent to be thrown out because she signed it as a minor and it was not approved by a Superior Court judge. Without that approval, North Carolina law allows the minor to back out of certain contracts upon turning 18, as Evans did in May. The intent of the statute is to protect precocious performers -- actors, singers, dancers -- from unscrupulous parents and talent agents. But it also applies to agreements to "render services as a participant or player in a sport." Evans' attorney, Richard Gusler, argues that includes her letter of intent as well, and if that means colleges need to take every North Carolina athlete signing a letter of intent before they turn 18 to see a judge, so be it. "Any effect that has on the National Letter of Intent system across the country or on future recruiting, that issue is something the NCAA is going to have to deal with," Gusler said Wednesday. "It would seem to me, looking at the letter of intent and the manner in which the NCAA works, it's pretty clear the emphasis of the NCAA in the letter-of-intent system is to protect colleges and not the kids. That's why we have laws in North Carolina to protect minors, and we intend to take full advantage of those laws."

A Western Carolina spokesman said the school had not been notified of any legal action and declined to comment. A spokesman for the NCAA, which administers the letter-of-intent program, said he had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment as well. Evans' legal argument aside, there is a bigger issue in play here. A letter of intent is an agreement between a player and a school, not a player and a coach. But given the mobility and role of college coaches today, holding that line seems a little predatory. It's hard to pretend that players are choosing schools only for that school at the same time coaches are being paid seven-figure salaries to convince those same players to attend. "I tell my student-athletes, 'Don't go somewhere because of the coach,' and I don't think they do, but that is part of the equation," said Danielle Blackburn, Evans' coach at Wakefield.

Most schools acknowledge that reality and release players like Evans who don't want to be there after a coaching change. Western Carolina, for whatever reason, will not, even though it has so little to gain by denying her, and Evans has so much to lose. "It has been extremely hard for me to believe that someone would hold back a 17-year-old girl from pursuing what she feels is in her best interest and her future," Lisa Evans said. "It's extremely hard to grasp and believe. I could never have imagined it would be this long a process." Kelsey Evans' challenge is strictly an interpretation of North Carolina law, and it's up to a judge to determine whether it applies. It doesn't take any legal knowledge to see the unfairness at hand.

[email protected]

 

isn't Elon in the same conference as Western Carolina? Generally schools are reluctant to release players to play against conference rivals. However...

If the article correctly quotes NC law the case seems cut and dried to me. The likley scenario is some unwanted negative publicity for WCU, the president and the Board of Trustees gets wind of it, a little pressure is brought to bear and the AD gets a new shredder.

This will not, however, have any implications other than for NC as the case is being heard in Wake Superior Court.

 

I must say, when it comes to amateur sports, very few things amaze me, but I'll be shocked if a judge overrules the Letter of Intent contract between the school and the parties involved.

Many people are looking at this the wrong way. They believe it's the right for a student-athlete to void the "contract" if the environment has changed. They believe; and this attorney is trying to suggest, that the NLI only serves the purpose of the college. But I would argue the NLI also protects the student-athlete as well.

If you rule the NLI is no longer binding that would mean the school's can revoke their athletic scholarships at any time.---talking about opening a can of worms. I can't imagine a ruling reversing the "agreement" between the school and the student would be beneficial to the student. The only people it would serve is the malcontent---and quite frankly, if a student and their family didn't consider that a coach may get fired or promoted to another school during the recruitment process---well, naivete is not an excuse to overturn a binding contract.

The contract is for one year. The way I understand the law's intent is to protect a minor from contracts entered by "unscrupulous parents and managers". I can't imagine a Superior Court judge ruling that Universities are "unscrupulous" in their offering of a one-year contract.

I think the better argument for an attorney to go after would be the transfer rules. Those rules are extremely prejudicial in protecting the universities.

It's been my many years experience that colleges are very receptive in granting a release, except with the condition of transferring to conference schools. But guess what---regardless if they grant the release, in her situation, she still must sit out a year.

 

Update

I read an article today in the N & O reporting that WCU released Kelsey Evans of her NLI.

I'm not trying to stir up anything here folks, just passing along the info.

HHMMMM, I'd love to have a been a fly on the wall hearing how the bigs at WCU and the NCAA and the Attorneys for the player found an amicable settlement without disrupting the respect of the NLI.

Fishman

 

New Information

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1684097.html