Florida coach Billy Napier and two co-defendants ask court to dismiss Jaden Rashada lawsuit

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Billy Napier and two co-defendants on Tuesday filed motions to dismiss quarterback Jaden Rashada’s lawsuit regarding a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million.

Napier, Florida booster/automotive technology businessman Hugh Hathcock and Marcus Castro-Walker, the program’s former director of player engagement, asked a U.S. District Court in Pensacola to dismiss the complaint.

Napier’s attorney, Hank Coxe III of the Bedell Firm in Jacksonville, argued in a 29-page response that facts are “sorely lacking from the complaint.”

“Nothing alleged in the complaint supports the notion that Napier participated in any wrongdoing,” Coxe wrote. “Nowhere does the complaint adequately allege, for example, that Napier knew about whatever occurred between Rashada, his ‘NIL agents’ and the Gator Collective, LLC.

“In fact, the complaint makes clear that Napier could not have defrauded Rashada, since the sole statement attributed to Napier is alleged to have been made after Rashada had already abandoned the Miami NIL deal.”

Hathcock’s attorney, Jason Peterson of Clark Partington in Pensacola, wrote in a 36-page response that the lawsuit contains “extensive legal conclusions and speculation” and lacks “the allegations of fact necessary for his claims against Hathcock.”

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“Some variation of the word ‘promise’ appears at least 50 times in the complaint, yet there is no breach-of-contract count,” Peterson wrote.

Castro-Walker’s attorney argued in 18 pages that his client cannot be held personally liable or named as a party defendant under sovereign immunity rules, adding that Castro-Walker was acting as an agent of the state or any of its subdivision.

Attorney Hal Lewis, based in Tallahassee, also accused Rashada’s lawsuit of “attributing meanings to statements and actions that are the exact opposite of what they appear to be on their face.”

“Even a thorough re-reading of the complaint after knowing how the story ends would fail to uncover even a single bread crumb of evidence that even remotely supported the ending,” Lewis wrote.

Velocity Automotive Solutions, LLC, the fourth and final defendant, had not filed a motion to dismiss by Tuesday afternoon.

Rashada’s lawsuit filed in May accuses Napier, Castro-Walker, Hathcock and Velocity of fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentations, tortious inference with a business relationship or contract, aiding and abetting tortious interference and vicarious liability. The complaint requested a jury trial and damages of at least $10 million.

The NCAA began investigating Florida in 2023 regarding Rashada’s recruitment. The NCAA asked the school not to conduct its own investigation and said it would notify the institution “soon regarding the projected timeline of the investigation.”

But, in March, the NCAA halted investigations into booster-backed collectives or other third parties making NIL compensation deals with Division I athletes following lawsuits. The decision came after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia. The antitrust suit challenged NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes’ ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame.

The lawsuit, though, landed the Gators back in the spotlight.

Rashada, who threw for 5,275 yards and 59 touchdowns at Pittsburg (California) High School, initially agreed to play for Miami in the fall of 2022. According to the lawsuit, the Hurricanes promised Rashada a $9.5 million NIL deal.

But Napier and Hathcock lured Rashada away from Miami with a $13.85 million NIL deal that violated NCAA bylaws, the suit said. Rashada’s deal was with the Gator Collective, an independent fundraising group that was loosely tied to the university and paid student-athletes for use of their NIL. The Gator Collective has since been disbanded.

The lawsuit accuses Napier of vouching for the Gator Collective and promising Rashada $1 million on signing day.

The 37-page complaint says Rashada “tolerated” several delays in getting paid before ultimately being left with “no faith in the UF football team’s leadership and the individuals who had constantly lied to him.”

Rashada was granted his release a month after his NIL deal fell through. He later signed with his father’s alma mater, Arizona State. He spent one season in Tempe before landing at Florida’s biggest rival, Georgia.

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