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Six former Florida State University men's basketball players filed a lawsuit against head coach Leonard Hamilton accusing him of failing to pay them of the $250,000 owed in name, image and likeness compensation, according to a 20-page complaint obtained by the Associated Press.
Darin Green Jr., De'Ante Green, Cam'Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley were all listed as plaintiffs and accuse Hamilton of promising them compensation from his "business partners" in the lawsuit filed in Leon County circuit court on Monday (December 30). The former Seminoles players reportedly walked out of a practice and intended to boycott their game against Duke on February 17 in protest of the alleged missed payments, however, all ended up playing in the 76-67 loss.
Hamilton, 76, who doesn't have an attorney listed in the lawsuit, guaranteed the players that they would be paid, however, never followed through. The complaint included multiple text-messages sent between the plaintiffs, some teammates and Hamilton in relation to the allegations.
Florida State finished the 2023-24 season with a 17-16 (10-10 ACC) overall record and is currently 9-4 (0-2 ACC) through its first 13 games of the 2024-25 season, Hamilton's last under his current contract. Green and Nickelberry concluded their college eligibility last spring, while the other four players transferred elsewhere.