Wait until a certain former Ohio State player's attorneys see this one!
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Former South Carolina defensive end Moe Thompson has sued the university for $300,000, claiming officials thwarted his chances of transferring - and consequently a shot at the NFL - after he was suspended from the team in 2005.
Thompson is serving five years' probation after he pleaded guilty in October to two counts of attempted first-degree burglary and two counts of petit larceny. He and teammate Kevin Mainord went into dorm rooms in February 2005 and took TVs and a DVD player belonging to female students.
Thompson tried playing for Grambling State, but academic problems prevented him from taking the field.
His attorney, Hemphill Pride, was out of the country and unavailable to talk about the lawsuit.
A university spokesman said the school would have no comment.
The lawsuit claims a university official withdrew Thompson from classes without the player's consent, causing him to be academically ineligible to play at Grambling. Since the withdrawal came more than six weeks into the academic session, his transcript reflected "withdrew failing," according to the lawsuit.
Thompson claims he should have been allowed to pursue an exception to the rule requiring the "withdrew failing" designation, which would have preserved his academic eligibility.
During an April workout in Columbia in preparation for the NFL draft, Thompson said had hoped to get his life back on track through football, but that the academic troubles held him back at Grambling.
"It kept me from playing football, which I love," Thompson said then. "This is the pain and suffering."
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but released from the team in June.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5805588
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Former South Carolina defensive end Moe Thompson has sued the university for $300,000, claiming officials thwarted his chances of transferring - and consequently a shot at the NFL - after he was suspended from the team in 2005.
Thompson is serving five years' probation after he pleaded guilty in October to two counts of attempted first-degree burglary and two counts of petit larceny. He and teammate Kevin Mainord went into dorm rooms in February 2005 and took TVs and a DVD player belonging to female students.
Thompson tried playing for Grambling State, but academic problems prevented him from taking the field.
His attorney, Hemphill Pride, was out of the country and unavailable to talk about the lawsuit.
A university spokesman said the school would have no comment.
The lawsuit claims a university official withdrew Thompson from classes without the player's consent, causing him to be academically ineligible to play at Grambling. Since the withdrawal came more than six weeks into the academic session, his transcript reflected "withdrew failing," according to the lawsuit.
Thompson claims he should have been allowed to pursue an exception to the rule requiring the "withdrew failing" designation, which would have preserved his academic eligibility.
During an April workout in Columbia in preparation for the NFL draft, Thompson said had hoped to get his life back on track through football, but that the academic troubles held him back at Grambling.
"It kept me from playing football, which I love," Thompson said then. "This is the pain and suffering."
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but released from the team in June.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5805588
