Ex-Louisville players pursue NCAA for 2013 championship loss

Related: John Morgan took medical marijuana in Florida, now he is after the NCAA

Read more: Luke Hanbad, former players from Louisville to Sue NCAA for the 2013 title released

In a ballroom Galt House Hotel two blocks from the university was forced to remove a KFC Yum Center chevrons championship banner, Morgan launched a tirade against the NCAA. He accused the organization of taking advantage of poor and disadvantaged children. He said that college players should not be called "student-athletes" but rather "student servants".

In the case of Louisville, Morgan stated that the players had been falsely accused of being involved in the scandal.

Hanbad says that people badociate him with strippers and prostitutes even though he was not involved.

"The NCAA has a reputation that many people in this room know, as Mr. Morgan has said, we are" Hanbad, who was named the Most Outstanding Final Four Player in 2013. [19659010] The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages and damages for the loss of economic opportunity and for the NCAA to declare that the players "did not engage in striptease dances, prostitution and tips of strippers as defended by the NCAA. "

He also asks the NCAA to reconvene the complainants for a number of awards, including the 2013 and 2013 National Championships) and The Championships of the American Athletic (2014) and the honor of Hanbad as the best player of the Final Four.

"By God, they will do it if we are to drag them here by Indianapolis' hair to the courthouse," Morgan says, referring to the NCAA.

With charges including breach of contract and negligence, the NCAA accuses plaintiffs of presenting in a "false light" – a legal term describing the widespread publication of fake speech that damages a mental health and the reputation of the individual.

The complaint asks for a jury trial if the case is not settled amicably.

The University of Louisville and former head coach Rick Pitino are not designated as parties in the trial.

Pitino and the NCAA did not immediately respond to requests from the Courier Journal requesting comment on the lawsuit. "These young men did a lot of work and came together as a group to do something very rare and special. Our university has invested significant resources to oppose the vacation penalty of records and hired the nation's leading advocate in our defense. Although we have failed and disagree with the decision, we are currently obligated as a member of the NCAA to abide by the decision and to comply with it.

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Hanbad is one of the NCAA sues and is tired of answering the question about prostitutes almost every day
Louisville Courier Journal

Hanbad and his former teammates rejected the idea that they opposed the NCAA at a five-year meeting on June 29 in the # 39, 2013 team's honor. Yet Wednesday's announcement was bursting with combative rhetoric

"One thing the bully understands, is blood in his mouth" said Morgan

"We are ready to go to battle," said lawyer Jon Rabinowitz. Councilor Jim Ellis, who played basketball for the Cardinals in the 1970s, said he and Hanbad had begun discussing the idea of ​​continuing the NCAA months ago. Ellis then put Hanbad and the other plaintiffs in touch with Morgan & Morgan. ] Morgan said his law firm is taking the case on contingency and will only be paid if the plaintiffs make money, and the lawyers said they welcome money. 39, other members of the 2013 team to join the trial. Of the five players in the running, only one – Dieng – currently plays in the NBA, with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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The Champion Ring of Luke Hanbad, which he wore at the press conference announcing the lawsuit against the NCAA. July 11, 2018 (Photo: Michael Clevenger / CJ)

This is the second known complaint filed against the NCAA over the Louisville punishment for the escort scandal.

A group of fans, dubbed the University of Louisville's Coalition for Protection and Advocacy, sued the NCAA in April for the reinstatement of victories and the reimbursement of financial damages.

Judge to rule next month on NCAA petition

The NCAA claimed that the group of supporters had "no power to sue."

When he was joined by the Courier Journal on Wednesday, Robert Florio, a fan advocate, compared the new trial to the movie "Braveheart."

"I feel William Wallace," joked Florio, referring to the scene where Mel Gibson's character rallies more Scottish troops to fight the British.

Florio said he heard that the players were not going to play the game. were preparing to file their own suit, and he is happy that they kept him separate.

In his own trial, he acknowledged that the players had an even stronger claim.

Independently , he said that they have the same goal – restore victories and banners

"They have gained a huge ally today." "(The NCAA) is going to have very, very hard shaken this costume. "