Rutgers University released documents this week revealing that three students, including one current member of the basketball team, have retained legal representation in connection with the Mike Rice abuse scandal.
According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, current Scarlet Knights guard Jerome Seagears is among the three players who retained attorneys in the wake of scandal.
The university released letters from attorneys for Jerome Seagears, who is still on the Scarlet Knights roster, along with former teammates Robert Lumpkins and Dane Miller, who either filed notices of claim in connection with their treatment at the hands of Rice, or letters of representation asking Rutgers to preserve all evidence related to the students.
None of the students has gone to court.
Their attorneys — Jamon Hicks of The Cochran Firm in California, who represents Lumpkins and Seagears, and Adam Sattler of Ebanks & Sattler in New York, who represents Miller — did not return calls for comment.
In December, former Rutgers forward Derrick Randall filed a suit against Rice, accusing the former coach of assault and battery, along with the university and its athletic staff. Randall claimed he was "in a hostile environment in which he was regularly and continuously subjected to physical, mental, verbal and emotional abuse of the most outrageous nature." His charges against the school include negligence, emotional distress and discrimination.
Rice was fired April 3 after videos showed him shouting curses and slurs, getting in the faces of players and even throwing a basketball at some during practice. According to The Star-Ledger, the three aforementioned letters were filed in April, May and June of last year.
The scandal also resulted in the departure of athletic director Tim Pernetti and assistant basketball coach Jimmy Martelli.
Rutgers University does not comment on pending on threatened litigation.
