Six former Florida State basketball players sued head coach Leonard Hamilton on Monday, accusing him of not paying them in name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation worth $1.5 million.
The plaintiffs—Darin Green Jr., De'Ante Green, Cam'Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley—filed the 20-page complaint in Leon County circuit court.
The former FSU players allege Hamilton promised them $250,000 each in NIL money and that the payment would come from his "business partners."
The lawsuit says the six players intended to boycott by sitting out Feb. 17 during FSU's game against Duke, but they ended up playing. According to the suit, Hamilton said that he will pay the players, but never did.
"We support Coach Hamilton's right to defend himself against these allegations and look forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter," Florida State University Athletics said in a statement on Monday.
The University said it is actively looking into Hamilton's allegations but states at this time, the school has no "unfulfilled commitments by FSU in terms of scholarships or other appropriate benefits."
"Upon learning recently of the allegations made by former men’s basketball athletes, the University has worked diligently to determine what transpired last season," the university continued.
Hamilton is in his 37th season as head coach of the FSU men's basketball team. He took over the program in 2002.
The Seminoles are (9-4, 0-2) this season. FSU is scheduled to host Syracuse on Saturday.
-
Hosted by Tom Flanigan
-
-