I don't. The system has checks and balances and at the end of the day, NU made sure that Vassar could go to school and graduate at no cost to him or his family.
Big news: Vassar suing NU for antitrust
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I don't. The system has checks and balances and at the end of the day, NU made sure that Vassar could go to school and graduate at no cost to him or his family.
IF the time sheets were forged, the checks and balances didn't quite work as intended.
I disagree. He appealed and won the appeal. And they told him he no longer had to do work at the athletic facility.
With that said, the time sheets now need to be investigated. Follow that investigation wherever it goes and if they were forged, fire whoever was involved. Whoever was involved.
The time sheet allegations don't implicate Collins. If they were forged, someone in the athletic department is going to have some sleepless nights, but I don't think that's the coaching staff.
I suspect there is a lot more to the story about the time cards, and the notion that an NU administrator crossed out actual names and crudely forged Vassar's name over the top seems among the least likely scenarios. I can envision at least a few others, one of which is innocuous and the other of which would put the blame in the opposite direction. That's all I will say at this point, until we hear NU's side.
I have no clue about antitrust litigation (the only time you know a lawyer is telling the truth is when they say, "I don't know.") and have little class action lawsuit experience. However, a couple of things come to mind for those reading the post.
1) He is and was over 18 at all times. He will be treated as an adult. He can not claim ignorance as a defense. His tweet that he was going to transfer I think really hurts his case. His only defense to that admission may be undue pressure;
2) The one paragraph that was interesting was where it states that after consulting with the B10 and NCAA which indicates that NU actually exercised due diligence;
3) I bet all those schools who he alleges told him that he would play immediately if he transferred will be denied and his testimony about those conversations may be barred as hearsay since those entities/people are not a parties to the lawsuit. It may come in under some hearsay exception, but it will be hard;
4) The forgery allegation is the sex in the complaint which may serve as a basis for punitive damages;
5) Plaintiff has only quoted excerpts of correspondence. I highly doubt $ was offered; and
6) The first thing that will occur will be a motion to dismiss. It will be on the legitimacy of the whether this is an actionable cause of action and the inability to answer the allegations. This lawsuit will pay for college for children of the defense lawyers.
1) He is and was over 18 at all times. He will be treated as an adult. He can not claim ignorance as a defense. His tweet that he was going to transfer I think really hurts his case. His only defense to that admission may be undue pressure;
2) The one paragraph that was interesting was where it states that after consulting with the B10 and NCAA which indicates that NU actually exercised due diligence;
3) I bet all those schools who he alleges told him that he would play immediately if he transferred will be denied and his testimony about those conversations may be barred as hearsay since those entities/people are not a parties to the lawsuit. It may come in under some hearsay exception, but it will be hard;
4) The forgery allegation is the sex in the complaint which may serve as a basis for punitive damages;
5) Plaintiff has only quoted excerpts of correspondence. I highly doubt $ was offered; and
6) The first thing that will occur will be a motion to dismiss. It will be on the legitimacy of the whether this is an actionable cause of action and the inability to answer the allegations. This lawsuit will pay for college for children of the defense lawyers.
So basically all of the stuff about NU is entirely irrelevant to the legal case. The legal point of the suit is that JV was unable to transfer because of the NCAA's restraint of sitting out a year. This relies on the premise that there were multiple schools who said they would not take him because he has to sit out a year....which seems weird because everyone knows the transfer rules and how limited waivers can be. This one strikes me as not going far legally, but will certainly spark at least an NCAA investigation into NU.
The real questions are what happened between paragraph 10 and 11. The complaint is oddly silent about that. It tries to paint it as a basketball issue, given the allegation that CC berated JV and told him he "sucked," but I'm sure NU will have something else to say about that.
The real questions are what happened between paragraph 10 and 11. The complaint is oddly silent about that. It tries to paint it as a basketball issue, given the allegation that CC berated JV and told him he "sucked," but I'm sure NU will have something else to say about that.
Collins' response when asked about this last night--"We'll let those things be handled behind closed doors"--is a really dumb first comment.
Either you deny, or you say you have no comment and refer questions to Northwestern officials who can deny for you. You don't talk about things being "handled behind closed doors," which, whether he meant it this way or not, could imply deal-making and potentially shady behavior/non-transparency. If what Vassar is charging is true, that all happened "behind closed doors," too.
Words matter, and Collins chose the wrong ones there.
Either you deny, or you say you have no comment and refer questions to Northwestern officials who can deny for you. You don't talk about things being "handled behind closed doors," which, whether he meant it this way or not, could imply deal-making and potentially shady behavior/non-transparency. If what Vassar is charging is true, that all happened "behind closed doors," too.
Words matter, and Collins chose the wrong ones there.
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This "big story" got zero mention in today's Trib. We'll see if it gets any traction going forward, but I doubt it will make much of a ripple. I don't think we're looking at a Rashidi Wheeler rerun here.
And there's already a publicly filed lawsuit. "handled behind closed doors" has already left the barn.
Forging time cards sounds like a tactic out of a Chicago public union employee playbook.
I actually watched and listened to the Collins post-game interview. The JV question was the first question, and he said "I have no comment" twice, once before the "closed door" sentence and once after.
And while the "closed doors" thing was kind of clumsy, due no doubt to his inferior Duke education, he is right: this is an issue between Vassar and the defendants which should not be discussed publicly by the head coach.
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I laughed out loud at this whopper:
"Plaintiff Johnnie Vassar was a star high school point guard and one of the nation’s most heavily recruited players at the time of his ascension to NCAA athletics"
Another curious point. JV says he could not afford summer school tuition because it cost ~$6,000. Yet he could afford a personal trainer, costing $7,500!
"...athletic scholarship, Johnnie paid for gym time and personal trainers/therapists (such as paying approximately $2,500 per week for three weeks during the summer of 2016) which would not have been needed if he was on an at ..."
I recall that Bruce Weber offered him when he was a high school freshman or sophomore. USC at one time offered....whether that was still active when NU offered I don't recall.
I think yes at one point on Illinois, but have no clue whether it remained until he committed. The statement in the complaint is "scholarship and/or interest", which is also funny.
The stuff about NU makes the complaint newsworthy for the Chicago media and thereby exposes the complaint to the entire Big Ten, including players who have been Creaned.
It may have much less to do with Vassar and much more to do with who might join the class action.
Never the less, investigate and make public what happened with the time cards.
Same.
I think they are stretching with the summer school point. Athletic schollies pay for summer school because the athletes are pretty much required to take summer school. As a regular student, even on hefty scholarship, you are not required to take summer school and do not need to in order to graduate in 4 years, so you can get loans for it, but it's not included your in general package. If he can't pay for summer school, then don't go. No one says you need to.
Oh I get the rationale behind it, but from a legal standpoint it doesn't matter much.
I think there will either be an internal investigation or an NCAA one into what happened though.
His point about summer school was he wanted to attend so he could graduate in 3 years and still have 2 years of eligibility left. If true, he should have sucked it up and attended class and done without the personal trainer.
Also, NU offered him a settlement in the amount of the value of his remaining scholarship. if he really wanted to transfer he could have gone to another school, paid his own way for a year, and been immediately eligible, just like Jared Uthoff did at Iowa (and his own suit references this). Something is very fishy here.....
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A profile in October 2014 mentioned that he had "some early offers from solid programs," including Illinois and DePaul, but implied that his recruiting suffered thereafter. IIRC, he was added to NU's class at the tail end, during the April signing period.
1. I think duress is exactly where is goes.
2. Ok.
3. Hearsay exception - or non-hearsay. Could be introduce not for proving the truth of the matter asserted, onlyo that it was said - and/or effect upon the listener.
4. The forgery part is also the weirdest part - right down to the exhibits.
5. I don't doubt anything at this point - but I think this could be the most damning if the NCAA picks it up.
6. Yup - I agree. Regardless of the merits of the extraneous allegations, I can see the suit being dismissed. But it has opened a door and I think the school and then the NCAA has an obligation to investigate. And the rules of law and evidence no longer apply.
I still am not sure what to think. I am among those angered by JV's actions - but I haven't walked in his shoes. It seems like he kept quiet for a long time - and I believed that NU must have had something over him to keep his mouth shut. Apparently, something cause JV to take this path this year. And he still is a 2o year old kid. I believe the blame starts with the adults the oversee a multi-million dollar program and mis-managed this situation. I suspect there will be plenty more blame to go around before this is over.
As aside, I don't think we have to worry about losing CCC for awhile - to Duke or anyone else. Until resolved, this will blacken his eye and turn away upward mobility.
Every divorce lawsuit gets littered with scandalous bombast to shame the other side into settling. This is no different.
"Collinsed" doesn't flow off the tongue as nicely as "Creaned". Plus, Coach Collins (ok I'm biased, he is our guy) seems nicer. Both coaches are excellent coaches and recruiters and are experienced in developing (by addition and subtraction) a D1 roster- Crean by first hand experience and Collins by learning from Coach K. By the way, I thought Vasser had potential to develop into an excellent defender. You can't teach quickness, and we saw him only as a freshman.
Instead, he became a plaintiff. Hey oh!
Many of these allegations are quite consistent with a coach who learned from Coach K.
I find the time sheet thing fascinating. There are a few options, each of which can be easily checked:
1) No check ever cut against allegedly bogus time sheet - clearly a forgery, JV vindicated. NU must fire someone.
2) Check cut against these time sheets but no other time sheet submitted - if JV cashed the check, then he is guilty of fraud, because he knows he didn't work the hours. If not, he is completely clear.
3) Check cut against these time sheets, plus a check cut against the legitimate time sheet - if JV cashed both, he committed fraud. If he only cashed the legitimate time sheet, he is cleared.
Should not be difficult for the truth to emerge.
Ah, just can't wait to get your anti worker hate in, could you. What an uninformed j--k.
How certain are we that any checks were cut against these time cards? The complaint alleges that he was required to work eight hours per week in order to maintain his scholarship despite not participating on the team. That makes it sound like the scholarship was the consideration for the work.
on a side note some Big 10 coaches were not in favor of the 4 year scholarship the big Ten adopted for these type of fears. In the renewable scholarship era if a kid was not working out the staff would tell him it is in your best interest to transfer to play more and they offered to help the kid find a new school....if the kid balked they merely said your scholarship is not going to be re-newed. Now if the kid balks they are on the hook for four years and have no recourse to recoup that scholarship unless they get the kid to leave...sad.
Collins and NU will get zip, as far as reprimand. just look what Pen St. got from the Big Ten as an example. I been critical of this kid regarding his actions and this just ads to his "look at me" attitude. Attended four high schools , gets a ride to a top university, and after one season announces his intention to transfer out. No one wants him and just maybe his personality entered into that, then screws his former teammates by depriving then of another schlorship player on their roster and keeps his basketball schlorship and doesn't want to do anything for it. Now this.
Excellent point. I guess I assumed he got paid. My bad.
But shouldn't there still be duplicates if these ones are fake? I mean he was obligated to submit time sheets for the time he was required to work?
These appear not to be time sheets, but time cards that someone uses to "punch the clock." I don't know that there would be duplicates aside from the ones kept in a slot next to the clock.
The complaint appears to allege that NU accused Vassar of (a) working less than the required eight hours weekly for a certain period; and (b) then in a subsequent period doing something fraudulent with the time cards. The implication seems to be that NU accused Vassar of taking the time cards of other interns, crossing out their names, and then putting his name at the top. It is not clear who wrote the initial name on each time card--the intern or some sort of supervisor. That might be important, as the misspelled time card included in the complaint was one where Vassar's name was initially on the time card. It seems at least possible that a supervisor of some sort wrote (and misspelled) his name on that card, which Vassar then used to punch the clock through the month. It seems possible that NU submitted that card simply as an example of Vassar not working the required number of hours. If someone at NU had forged that particular card, he or she also would have also had to figure out a way to add the several time stamps to the card. I'm not sure how feasible that would be.
The complaint alleges that Vassar "won" his appeal. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the appeal board found NU had forged any of the cards. Rather, it might just mean the board thought NU had presented inadequate evidence that Vassar is the one who scratched out names and put his name on the cards.
All of this is speculation at this point. But there may be a variety of plausible scenarios. Let's see what NU's side of the story is.
