Tennessee football player Jackson Lampley files declaration in NCAA lawsuit over NIL
University of Tennessee football player Jackson Lampley filed a declaration in the state of Tennessee’s lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday.
The six-page statement was filed in the Eastern District of Tennessee federal court. It summarizes Lampley's experience as a student-athlete and gives his readiness to testify in the lawsuit or an attached motion if called upon.
Lampley, a Nashville native and former Montgomery Bell Academy standout, is an offensive lineman for the Vols. His father, Brad Lampley, is an attorney in Nashville, and he played on the offensive line for the Vols in the mid-1990s.
Lampley has experience as an athlete who was recruited before NIL rules were in place and someone who has helped athletes navigate the NIL landscape since. It makes him an interesting potential witness for the lawsuit.
When making his decision on which school to play for, Lampley said he considered a host of things about each school: academic prestige, campus setting, proximity to home, relevance of the football team and how well they put players in the NFL draft, among others. Now, he said, athletes ask about those things, but first want to know about NIL.
“Almost every recruit I meet with asks first and foremost about NIL. But they also ask about all the same factors I considered in the pre-NIL world," Lampley said in the court filing. "Just like finances are a factor for every other college student's decision for where to enroll, how much weight a recruit puts on financial costs and opportunities ought to be up to them, as simply part of finding the right fit for a given athlete's circumstances.
“In my observation, NIL has become one of the top factors that current recruits consider when determining where to go to school.”
Why State of Tennessee is suing NCAA over NIL
On Wednesday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed suit against the NCAA over its “NIL-recruiting ban," taking the same aggressive posture of the University of Tennessee as it confronts a new NCAA investigation into whether it violated athletics recruiting rules.
The attorney general's lawsuit mentions the UT investigation as an example of the "unlawful restriction" of the NCAA's NIL policy, and it immediately drew support from Gov. Bill Lee and other state officials.
Skrmetti argues the NCAA violates federal antitrust laws by putting a “shifting and opaque series of rules and guidelines” around athletes’ benefits for their name, image and likeness.
It’s similar to the language UT Chancellor Donde Plowman used in a scathing email to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Monday denying that UT broke NCAA rules involving NIL benefits for athletes.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football player Jackson Lampley files declaration in NCAA lawsuit over NIL
