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Six former FSU basketball players are suing Leonard Hamilton for unpaid NIL deals

Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton speaks to the media during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference NCAA college basketball media day in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Chuck Burton/AP
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AP
Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton speaks to the media during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference NCAA college basketball media day in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

The complaint was filed Monday morning.

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."

Florida State guard Chandler Jackson (0) listens to coach Leonard Hamilton, middle, and associate head coach Stan Jones during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Purdue in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022.
Phil Sears/AP
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FR170567 AP
Florida State guard Chandler Jackson (0) listens to coach Leonard Hamilton, middle, and associate head coach Stan Jones during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Purdue in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022.

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.

Two basketball players engage on the hardwood, one in a blue and orange jersey combo, the other player in a white and red combo. The player in white is dribbling the ball
David Mullins
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WFSU News
FSU Men's Basketball falls to UF

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.

Adrian Andrews is a multimedia journalist with WFSU Public Media. He is a Gadsden County native and a first-generation college graduate from Florida A&M University. Adrian is also a military veteran, ending his career as a Florida Army National Guard Non-Comissioned Officer.

Adrian has experience in print writing, digital content creation, documentary, and film production. He has spent the last four years on the staff of several award-winning publications such as The Famuan, Gadsden County News Corp, and Cumulus Media before joining the WFSU news team.