Kentucky senior LHP James Paxton filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the University of Kentucky. According to a New York Times article, Paxton was told in October to meet with an NCAA investigator but was instructed to not tell his parents or his lawyers about the interview. Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart told Paxton that he would not be allowed to play on the team without submitting to the interview.
The interesting part here is the fact that Paxton lawyer is Richard Johnson. He is best known for taking on the NCAA last year for Andrew Oliver in a similar case which was eventually settled even though the judge found that the NCAA ban on the use of lawyers was illegal in the state of Ohio.
You can check out the full report from The New York Time by clicking here.
I will have some more information on this story in the coming days if possible.
H/T to Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com.
This is really interesting. On the one hand, I wonder what the NCAA is investigating, which they think they would benefit from not having a lawyer present. On the other, I wonder what Paxton is afraid of that he feels he would need one. I don’t think you can fault the kid for wanting his lawyer present personally but I just wonder what this is all about.
Oh the drama and intrigue.
Plus you have Richard Johnson involved in this who really took it to the NCAA a few months back.