NBA player counter-sues former agent
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
In September of 2011, NBA star Michael Beasley’s agent filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the player, accusing him of firing him to avoid paying commission on an endorsement deal. Beasley has since launched a counter suit against the man and his former coach. The lawsuit claims the pair violated NCAA rules and federal regulations in effort to add the player to his athlete contracts by providing his mother with “improper cash benefits” while Beasley was in college.
The lawsuit includes a summary of Beasley’s life background, explaining that he was raised in single-parent household with little money. He struggled throughout high school, but eventually became noticed for his skill in basketball. After a team he played on folded, a coach approached him with an offer to join another team.
Beasley claims his mother could not afford to pay for him to join the team, but that his coach told his mother that she would not need to. Beasley eventually moved in with his coach before college and the two grew close.
Beasley claims that the agent funded the team so that the coach would recommend him to represent his player should they get the chance to play basketball professionally. When Beasley’s mother encountered legal trouble, she alleges that the agent provided the coach with $2,500 in cash in order to pay for her fees.
Once Beasley entered college, his mother claims the agent offered to pay for her rent and car payments while her son attended school. Beasley claims he was not aware his mother was receiving this money until he employed the agent to represent him.
Both the coach and the agent at the center of the lawsuit deny the charges, saying that they only wished to provide opportunities for Beasley and his teammates, who otherwise would not likely be able to attend college.
Source: The Washington Post “Beasley files countersuit against agent alleging he received improper benefits at Kansas State,” Oct. 27, 2011