Louisville Basketball: Win or Lose, Hancock and Cards Deserve to be Heard

On Wednesday, former Louisville basketball star Luke Hancock and attorney John Morgan officially announced their intent to sue the NCAA.

Luke Hancock is doing The Lord’s work.

It’s not news that many around the Louisville program wanted to hear this week when news broke that there would be another lawsuit against the NCAA. Another arduous, drawn-out process that seemed like a losing scenario for Louisville.

The University and its supporters have been desperate to get away from the constant negative attention. Every story about the team makes mention of multiple scandals that have been a dark cloud over the program for two years. Every conversation with an opposing fan begins and ends with prostitution and banner jokes.

So, it was no surprise that many people were disinterested and discouraged when Hancock, Morgan, and a four other players- Mike Marra, Gorgui Dieng, Stephen Van Treese, and Tim Henderson- decided to fight for the 123 wins, two final fours, and a National Championship that were stripped from Louisville earlier this year.

Here’s what many refused to consider right away: what if there is a case to be made in court? What if the former Cardinals are able to argue their points effectively, and prove that the NCAA was wrong to vacate wins and championships?

Morgan and his team were already able to make great points just in their introductory press conference today.

“In the sports world I don’t think there is any goliath that exists like the NCAA,” began Morgan. “(The NCAA) is a morally bankrupt organization, that for years and years and years has taken advantage of economically disadvantaged young people throughout our country.“ He also went on to say that “they answer to nobody, but they are bad for everybody.”

Morgan- who is a well-known class action lawyer and has a firm of over 400 people- knows his stuff. Though it is apparent Louisville fans are going to have to siphon through more monotonous lawyer-speak, there is likely not a better person to represent the former Louisville players (or any former student athlete) than Morgan.

“We are used to fighting giants. Our fights everyday are against huge huge huge insurance companies and manufacturers,” Morgan continued. “We are used to fighting Goliath.”

There’s not a bigger Goliath in sports than the NCAA. Even if you aren’t a Louisville supporter, you should be not only interested, but cheering for Louisville to get it’s banner back.

Many say that the NCAA is “corrupt,” but laugh at Louisville’s failures in the same breath. It is clear though that the NCAA’s poor track record is only getting worse. And it is clear that those who mock Louisville are only doing so for their personal amusement; not because they care about the overall well-being of the academic institution they choose to support.

“We are used to fighting giants. Our fights everyday are against huge huge huge insurance companies and manufacturers. We are used to fighting Goliath.”

The NCAA chose to punish Louisville for telling the truth in regards to impermissible stripper parties that were held at the school, even after Louisville self-imposed a post-season ban, and sacrificed millions of dollars and left many players careers hanging in the balance. A statement from the NCAA called former graduate assistant Andre McGee’s actions “repugnant,” and said the university had a lack of institutional control.

However, when taking a look at the landscape of NCAA athletics, it is packed with inconsistencies.

North Carolina orchestrated fake classes that took place over two plus decades where students would be awarded good grades for classes that ultimately did not even exist, or required little to no effort. The NCAA ruled in favor of the school, stating that as long as there was another student not doing diddly squat in said “class”, there was nothing they could really do. As long as they were all cheating, it’s business as usual. North Carolina got their money, the NCAA got their money. UNC keeps their championships. Everyone is happy.

Michigan State and Baylor were both cesspools of greed, corruption, and crime. Sexual assault and crime surrounded both programs. Most recently, Michigan State was involved in a widely followed case where gymnastics coach Larry Nassar committed acts of sexual assault to dozens of underage girls. A further investigation into the program found that men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo was aware of said scandals, and made attempts to cover them up. It was later proven that NCAA president Mark Emmert knew about, and covered up the Michigan State case as well. Similarly, Baylor’s football program knew about, and covered up multiple sexual assault cases within the program. However, both schools will get off with little to no punishment. Baylor made its money, Michigan State got their money, the NCAA made its money, and everyone was happy.

The NCAA has been sending the signal that if you make a small mistake and tell the truth, you will be punished- not only to the fullest extent, but a harsher extent than one would have dreamed possible. The Louisville basketball team became the first team to be forced to vacate a national title, and went from 10th in all-time wins to 27th after vacations of wins.

However, if those in charge at your university commit unspeakable acts like sexual assault, or if your university makes up classes so that players can be eligible, this is permissible… As long as it’s properly covered up, and you lie about it.

These are the actions that Hancock, Morgan, and company intend to shed light on.

The NCAA is chock full of inconsistencies, and Morgan pointed many of them out today in Louisville. Though he is a self-proclaimed Kentucky Wildcat enthusiast, he wants more than anything to prove that the NCAA is flawed, and that it made sweeping judgments when penalizing the University of Louisville.

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“We are here to get back what was wrongfully taken,” said Morgan. “We’re here to clear names, we’re here to reinstate awards, to reinstate all of those wins, not just some of them, but all of them.” Morgan continued, “We’re here today to get back what was wrongfully taken… we’re here to reinstate all of those wins, not just some of those wins… but more than that- we are here today to get these players’ good names back.”

Morgan is certainly planning on coming out swinging, and Hancock quickly followed suit.

“I do the right things. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Hancock told reporters. “The NCAA wont even respond about the (NCAA Tournament) M.O.P. (Most Outstanding Player) award. To not call us… they made 900 million dollars of the tournament,” he recalled, in regards to the NCAA’s continued inconsistencies. “Enough is enough, the NCAA has a reputation that a lot of people know about, and we’re going to push back.”

Push back is exactly what the players should be doing. Although on the surface it seems annoying to open up old wounds, players like Hancock deserve to have their voice heard. The players are the ones who earned the banner. They are the ones who put asses in seats for the NCAA to make nearly a billion dollars a year. They are the ones who put in countless hours with, and without the team. They operate under constant pressure, for no financial gain. They stood nothing to benefit profit-wise, while the NCAA counts their billions. And the one thing that the players did win has now been stripped away from them. For something that was not their fault, and completely out of control.

I’d sue too. Wouldn’t you?

Morgan seemed highly motivated to help the players earn back what is rightfully theirs, by reinstating all wins, titles, and personal awards.

“They’re going to do it,” said Morgan, confidently. “By God, they’re going to do it if we have to drag them down here by the hair.”

Next: Former Players Want Their Banner Back