The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective VC Connect filed a joint lawsuit on Friday against the University of Miami alleging it knowingly induced one of the Badgers’ football players to abandon a lucrative name, image and likeness contract to play for the Florida school this upcoming season.

Allegations of tampering rarely get to this level and the 23-page lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Wisconsin and obtained by The Associated Press, is unusual. Depending on its resolution, it could have a a wider impact on future NIL deals across college athletics.

The player in question in the filing is referred to only as “Student-Athlete A.” But the case summary describes facts that line up with the situation involving cornerback Xavier Lucas, who last December announced his plans to enter the transfer portal.

Shortly afterward, Darren Heitner, who has been representing Lucas, indicated that Wisconsin was refusing to put Lucas’ name in the portal and that it was hindering his ability to talk with other schools. In January, Heitner announced that Lucas would be playing for Miami this fall.

The situation is fallout from the rapid changes engulfing college athletics, specifically a combination of two things: Athletes went to court and won the ability to transfer with much more freedom and the 2021 NCAA decision clearing the way for them to strike NIL endorsement deals now worth millions of dollars. That has changed the recruiting landscape and forced the issue of contracts and signed commitments to the fore.

“Indeed, student-athletes’ newfound NIL rights will be rendered meaningless if third parties are allowed to induce student-athletes to abandon their contractual commitments,” a portion of the lawsuit reads.

Wisconsin said in January that it had credible information that Miami and Lucas made impermissible contact with each other before the former Badgers cornerback decided to transfer.

Wisconsin and VC Connect allege that the inducement for Lucas to attend Miami happened within days of him entering his NIL agreement to play for the Badgers, and that they incurred substantial monetary and reputational harm. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and “a declaration that Miami’s conduct directed towards Student-Athlete A constituted tampering.”

A message left with the University of Miami seeking comment was not immediately returned. In a text message Friday, Heitner declined to comment on the lawsuit but he said that Lucas still plans to attend Miami and play football.

Wisconsin said it had the support of its leadership and the Big Ten Conference in filing the lawsuit, noting its commitment to “ensuring integrity and fundamental fairness in the evolving landscape of college athletics.”

“While we reluctantly bring this case, we stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” the statement said. “In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.

Lucas, who is from Pompano Beach, Florida, had 12 tackles, an interception and a sack as a freshman for Wisconsin last season.

Heitner said that Lucas hasn’t received any money from Wisconsin and therefore owes no money to the school. Heitner also argued that Wisconsin had violated an NCAA bylaw by not entering Lucas into the transfer database within two business days of the player’s request.

Wisconsin issued a statement at the time saying it hadn’t put Lucas’ name in the portal because he had entered a two-year binding NIL agreement.

In April, the surprise transfers of brothers Nico and Madden Iamaleava from Tennessee to UCLA prompted fresh questions about contracts and buyouts.

Nico Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, walked away from a reported $2.4 million NIL contract. Arkansas freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava entered the portal after spring practices wrapped up.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek released a statement indicating he would support efforts by the Razorbacks’ NIL collective to enforce buyout clauses in athlete contracts. Iamaleava reportedly had a contract valued at $500,000 upon signing with Arkansas.

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BYU’s AJ Dybantsa to Lead Team USA U19 in FIBA World Cup originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa continues to impress on the international stage. The top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class shined throughout the past week at USA Basketball’s U19 training camp in Colorado Springs, earning a spot among the 12 players for the U19 national team heading to Switzerland.

Team USA is set to depart for Switzerland on June 24 to prepare for the FIBA U19 World Cup. Dybantsa and his teammates will open group play on June 28 against Australia, with additional games scheduled for June 29 and July 1. All three contests will be streamed on YouTube.

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Dybantsa told reporters he wanted to “bring back gold for BYU,” and is no stranger to international success. He helped Team USA win gold at both the 2023 FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Mexico and last summer’s U17 World Cup in Turkey. Most recently, he played a starring role at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, where he tallied 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in a dramatic overtime win against the World Select Team.

Related: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa Becomes College Basketball’s Top NIL Earner

The U19 team features a solid coaching staff led by Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, with some top assistants, including Kentucky head coach and former BYU leader Mark Pope and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis.

Related: 2025 NBA Draft: What Anonymous Scouts Said About BYU’s Egor Demin

Though Dybantsa won’t face Big 12 competition until BYU opens conference play in December, his time with Team USA offers a valuable early preview to rival coaches.

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With his eyes set on gold, Dybantsa is ready to show off his skills as one of the most exciting talents before heading back to Provo.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The University of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Friday saying Miami’s football team tampered with a Badgers player under a name, image and likeness contract, ESPN reports.

The first-of-its-kind lawsuit mentions freshman defensive back Xavier Lucas, who left Wisconsin for Miami in January.

According to ESPN, the Badgers staff refused to enter Lucas’ name into the transfer portal because he had signed a two-year revenue sharing contract with the university.

In the lawsuit, Wisconsin claims that a Miami staff member and a prominent alumnus met with Lucas and his family at a relative’s home in Florida.

Miami offered Lucas money to transfer, which Wisconsin says is tortious interference by knowingly compelling a player to break the terms of his deal with the Badgers.

“While we reluctantly bring this case, we stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” the school said in a statement sent to ESPN.

According to the complaint, Wisconsin decided to file suit in hopes that “during this watershed time for college athletics, this case will advance the overall integrity of the game by holding programs legally accountable when they wrongfully interfere with contractual commitments.”

ESPN said the pending case will determine whether schools can use NIL deals to keep players from transferring, even though the players aren’t technically employees of the university.

Starting July 1, schools will start paying their athletes directly.

SEE ALSO: Federal judge approves $2.8B settlement, paving way for US colleges to pay athletes millions

But right now, according to ESPN, several contracts between Big Ten schools and their players state that athletes are not being paid to play football for the university.

Since the school is technically paying only to use the player’s NIL rights, it’s unclear if a judge will enforce a part of the contract that dictates where the player attends school.

The Big Ten said in a statement to ESPN that it supports Wisconsin’s decision to file the lawsuit and that Miami’s alleged actions “are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework.”

NEW YORK — A former Syracuse University basketball player who worked recently for Sean “Diddy” Combs as a personal assistant testified at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial on Friday that Combs got “extremely creative” when he was on drugs.

Brendan Paul, 26, was arrested last year at a Miami airport with cocaine he says belonged to Combs, and he testified with immunity about what it was like working for the hip-hop entrepreneur for a year and a half. Paul was arrested in March 2024 — the same day federal agents conducted multiple searches related to the Combs’ investigation.

Prosecutors are winding down their case after six weeks of testimony from an array of witnesses ranging from ex-girlfriends and former employees to male sex workers and the rapper Kid Cudi. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, even made a surprise appearance at the courthouse.

The prosecution seeks to convince the jury that Combs oversaw a sprawling racketeering enterprise for two decades that relied on obedience by employees willing to do anything for him, including buying drugs when necessary.

Defense lawyers say Combs did not commit federal crimes, although they acknowledge that prosecutors have exposed domestic violence during the trial. After pleading not guilty following his September arrest at a Manhattan hotel, Combs has been held without bail at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors were expected to rest their case by Monday. A defense presentation is expected to last from two to five days.

Paul said he bought drugs for Combs between five and 10 times, spending up to $500 for drugs including cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and marijuana.

He said he only did drugs with Combs once, when Combs asked him to try “tusi,” also known as pink cocaine, to see if it was good.

Paul said he did so because he “wanted to prove my loyalty” and said he thought it was good.

“We continued on with our night,” he told Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavic.

Paul said that prior to his arrest, he had forgotten about the cocaine after collecting it while “sweeping” Combs’ room that morning and had accidentally left it in a bag he carried as he prepared to go on vacation with Combs and other aides. The charges were dismissed after Paul completed a pretrial diversion program.

Under questioning by defense attorney Brian Steel, Paul said his “heart dropped” when he realized that there was cocaine in a travel bag after telling officers at the airport that everything in the bag belonged to him.

Steel asked Paul if Combs was generally happy and didn’t hurt anyone when he was on drugs.

“He got extremely creative,” Paul responded.

At another point, Steel asked the witness: “You would not work for a criminal, would you?”

“Absolutely not,” Paul responded.

Slavic, though, elicited Paul’s mixed feelings about Combs when the prosecutor asked him just before he finished his testimony: “Sitting here today, how do you feel about Mr. Combs?”

“It’s complicated,” he answered.

Paul, originally from Cleveland, was a 6-foot-2 guard who walked on at Syracuse University and came off the bench in 16 games over two seasons, playing a total of 17 minutes and scored just 3 points. He later transferred to lower-tier Fairmont State University in West Virginia, where he played for two more seasons.