Ex-Louisville players take 'Goliath' of NCAA to court over 2013 title

Show Caption Hide Caption Attorney John Morgan talks about how he feels about the NCAA John Morgan's firm is representing members of the 2013 Championship team.

Luke Hancock said he can't go more than two days without somebody asking him if he had strippers in his college dormitory.

To the former Louisville basketball star, those interactions are evidence of his sullied reputation, a lingering effect of an NCAA investigation and sanctions tied to the escort scandal at the University of Louisville.

A lawsuit filed against the NCAA on Wednesday by five former University of Louisville men's basketball players is an attempt to redeem reputations.

The five plaintiffs — former Louisville players Hancock, Gorgui Dieng, Stephan Van Treese, Tim Henderson and Michael Marra — are seeking "a declaration that they are completely innocent of any wrongdoing as implied by the NCAA," according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Jefferson Circuit Court.

The suit accuses the NCAA of portraying members of the 2013 team in a false light and seeks to restore the team's 2013 national championship and associated accolades, which were vacated by the NCAA along with 123 wins as a result of the escort scandal.

“People’s reputations matter,” said attorney Keith Mitnik, who is representing the players.

Hancock, flanked by eight attorneys, was the lone player present Wednesday at a news conference to discuss the lawsuit. The former Louisville team captain wore his championship ring and sat stone-faced as attorneys invoked LeBron James, Louis Brandeis, Muhammad Ali and novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” in a bizarre 35-minute prelude.

Lead attorney John Morgan, of personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, cast the NCAA as an overreaching bully, an organization with no authority to investigate — or levy punishment for — criminal actions.

"We are used to fighting Goliath every single day," Morgan said. "In the sports world, I don't think there is any Goliath that exists like the NCAA."

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Read more: Luke Hancock, ex-Louisville players to sue NCAA for vacated 2013 title

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

In Louisville's case, Morgan said the players have been falsely accused of being a part of the scandal and want their names cleared.

Hancock said people associate him with strippers and prostitutes even though he was not involved.

"The NCAA has a reputation that I think a lot of people in this room know about. Like Mr. Morgan said, we're going to push back," said Hancock, who was named as the Final Four’s most outstanding player in 2013.

The suit asks for unspecified compensatory damages and damages for loss of economic opportunity and for the NCAA to declare that the players "did not engage in striptease dances, prostitution and tipping of strippers as implied by the Defendant (NCAA)."

It also asks the NCAA to again recognize the plaintiffs for a number of accolades, including the 2013 national championship, Big East (2012 and 2013) and American Athletic (2014) conference tournament championships and Hancock’s honor as the Final Four's most outstanding player.

"By God, they’re going to do it if we have to drag them down here by the hair from Indianapolis to the courthouse," said Morgan, referring to the NCAA.

Along with counts including breach of contract and negligence, the suit accuses the NCAA of portraying the plaintiffs in a "false light" – a legal term describing widespread publication of false speech that damages an individual's mental health and reputation.

The complaint asks for a jury trial if the case does not settle out of court.

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

Pitino and the NCAA did not immediately respond to Courier Journal requests seeking comment about the lawsuit.

“We understand the frustrations and empathize with our former student-athletes," Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra wrote in an email to the Courier Journal. "These young men expended a great deal of effort and came together as a group to accomplish something very rare and special. Our university invested significant resources to oppose the vacation of records penalty and engaged the nation’s top appeals attorney in our defense. While we were unsuccessful and emphatically do not agree with the decision, we are obligated at this time as a member of the NCAA to abide by the ruling and have complied accordingly.”

Luke Hancock talks about suing the NCAA over vacating the 2013 Championship Hancock is one of several players who is suing the NCAA and is tired of answering the question about prostitutes nearly every day

Hancock and his former teammates dismissed the notion that they were opposing the NCAA at a five-year reunion June 29 honoring the 2013 team. Yet Wednesday’s announcement brimmed with combative rhetoric.

“One thing a bully understands is blood in his mouth,” Morgan said.

“We’re ready to go to battle,” attorney Jon Rabinowitz declared.

Co-counsel Jim Ellis, who played basketball for the Cardinals in the 1970s, said he and Hancock began discussing the idea of suing the NCAA “several months ago.” Ellis then put Hancock 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 win money, and attorneys said they welcome other members of the 2013 team to join the suit. Of the five players in the suit, only one — Dieng — is currently playing in the NBA, with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This is the second known lawsuit filed against the NCAA in relation to Louisville's punishment for the escort scandal.

A group of fans, who have dubbed themselves the University of Louisville Protection and Advocacy Coalition, sued the NCAA in April for the reinstatement of the wins and repayment of financial damages.

A judge is expected to rule next month on a motion submitted by the NCAA to dismiss the case.

Related: Lawyers differ on legality of Louisville fans' suit against the NCAA

The NCAA argued that the fan group has "no authority to sue on U of L's behalf and have not sustained any legally cognizable injury."

When reached by the Courier Journal on Wednesday, Robert Florio, lawyer for the fans, likened the new lawsuit to the movie "Braveheart."

“I feel like William Wallace,” Florio joked, referring to the scene where Mel Gibson’s character rallied up more Scottish troops to fight the British.

Florio said he heard that the players were getting ready to file their own suit, and he is happy they kept it separate.

While he professed confidence in his own lawsuit, he acknowledged the players have an even stronger claim.

Regardless, he said they have the same goal – to restore the wins and banner.

“They gained a huge ally today,” Florio said. “(The NCAA) is going to have a very, very hard time shaking that suit.”

Danielle Lerner: 502-582-4042; dlerner@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Danielle_Lerner. Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/daniellel.