Dan Lanning, Ryan Day react to players suing Leonard Hamilton over NIL promises
The latest NIL controversy broke Monday when it was reported that six former Florida State basketball players are suing coach Leonard Hamilton. The players alleged that Hamilton promised them each $250,000 in NIL payments that they never received.
It’s a story that has many talking, and it’s not the first time that something similar to this has happened. Oregon football coach Dan Lanning and Ohio State football coach Ryan Day were each asked to give their opinion on the matter ahead of a College Football Playoff match in the Rose Bowl.
“Growing up in the Midwest, you have to be a man of your word,” Lanning said. “What you say is what you do. I think that’s something we believe in here at Oregon. I don’t think there’s a lot of clarity in college football right now. Now I think everybody realizes that and I think we’d all be in favor of having some clarity. But you also want to compete to be the best.
“Each school is different in how they operate. I know at Oregon, we’re about integrity and what we say is what we do. But I can’t speak to that specific situation because I don’t know enough about it.”
Day followed up by echoing the sentiments of Lanning, saying he had been focused on preparing for the game and didn’t know a lot about the situation. However, he agreed that NIL needs “more structure” given all the recent issues.
“When you start getting into these conversations, obviously the legal folks start getting involved,” Day said. “I think for all of us, we would like a little more structure in those areas to alleviate some of those issues.”
