After reading the unpleasantness at the end of the Lance Thomas Jewelry thread, I went back through all the posts on this topic.
- 429 post of the closed Vigil Thread
- 41 posts of the closed “In case anyone cares what Pat Forde thinks…” thread
- 83 posts in this closed Lance Thomas Jewelry thread
I figured out a few things:
- Threads were closed and infractions were handed out (though probably not enough) for baseless, rampant speculation and repetitive, argumentative rants, and attacks against other posters.
- Nobody wants to read the aforementioned posts, and because we don’t allow such on this board, people keep reading the thread thinking that the unread posts have merit (so no, asking people to “self-mod” is not an option in this case).
- I won’t get that time back from re-reading those posts. Ever.
- This thread is still open for reasonable discussion without excessive speculation, ranting, or incivility towards others. Please cite sources where available, and include a summary to let the reader decide if they want to click for more information.
I also was able to summarize the facts of the issue, citing sources. Here are the facts:
On 9/8/12, the story broke that Lance Thomas is being sued by a New York jeweler. Allegedly, he purchased diamond jewelry on 12/21/09 for a $30K down payment and a $67,800 balance due in 15 days. The lawsuit, filed in January, 2012, is for the unpaid balance and has not been publicly disclosed.[1] This is the same jeweler that, in the last two years, sued and settled with Dallas Cowboys Dez Bryant for $240K [1], sued rapper Gucci Mane for over $274K and won [2], and allegedly sold a Manhattan layer’s Rolex brought in for cleaning to rapper Drake [3]. The terms for both Dez Bryant [4] and Gucci Mane [2] were the same 15 days as Lance Thomas; the actual invoice for Dez Bryant shows their pre-printed contract to be 15 days [4, page 8, point 1]. The lawsuit was settled on 9/18/12, the details of the settlement are bound by confidentiality agreements. [5]
There two points that cause Lance’s eligibility to be questioned:
- Where did Lance get the $30K to put down? If he got it from an agent or booster, he would be ineligible. If he got it from his family, it’s not a problem. His mother is a manager at a Ford plant in NJ [1], which can indicate his family does have money. Jeff Goodman’s “multiple sources close to Thomas” indicate that it came from the family.[6]
- Was Lance extended the 15 day loan based on his status as a student-athlete? If so, he would be ineligible. In 15 days, Lance would still be in college – hard to argue that he was given the loan based on future earnings as a pro athlete, especially as he was not expected to be drafted in the NBA [7]. Would other students at Duke be able to get the same terms? It seems to be on the preprinted contact for Dez Bryant [4].
From the NCAA’s perpective, we know that:
- The NCAA is investigating. Duke must cooperate and is cooperating.
- The NCAA does not have subpoena powers. Neither the jeweler nor Lance Thomas (as he is no longer a student athlete) need to talk to the NCAA. Per the terms of their settlement, they cannot talk to the NCAA or media.
- NCAA rules, specifically the Cooperative Principle, Bylaw 32.1.4, can prevent Coach K and Duke’s compliance officers from talking to Lance to preserve the integrity of the investigation. [8]
- NCAA rules prohibit Coach K and Duke representatives from talking to the media about an ongoing investigation.
- Good legal advice prohibits Lance from talking to the media about his confidential settlement and ongoing NCAA investigations.
- If Lance either received the $30K down payment impermissibly or received an impermissible loan, he was an ineligible player, which could cause the games in which he played from that point on to be vacated, including the National Championship.
Lance has made a public statement on October 1 saying that he does not think he violated NCAA rules, and after legal details are worked out, he will talk to the NCAA.[9]
So....
All we know is that a lawsuit was filed against Lance Thomas for $68K of a $100K jewelry purchased during winter break of his senior year (when Duke won the National Championship), and it was settled on 9/18/12 with a mutual confidentiality clause. We are assuming that the lawsuit filed is completely accurate on purchase dates, amounts, terms, and other transaction details. The NCAA is investigating, but Coach K cannot talk to Lance or the media about it until after the NCAA investigation, nor can Lance or the jeweler divulge the terms of the settlement.
So, what’s left to discuss until the NCAA is done with their investigation?
Yes, it's the start of the basketball season, and lots of writers will be asking the Duke about this and writing pieces to drive hits. Some writers have a better reputation than others; if you link to a story by a writer known to incite Duke fans and ask for our thoughts, we will likely consider that trolling (we define that as a "post designed simply to provoke negative responses or outrage.") Please summarize all articles (y'all know how to do that without violating copyrights) so people know whether they want to give that writer their clicks (do this on any thread, please!).
Here's the place to discuss anything new.
