Duke apparently wants volunteers, not hostages.
The school sued quarterback Darian Mensah last week, attempting to block his entry into the transfer portal despite having an NIL contract through 2026. The case has been resolved, and Mensah is free to leave.
“Through close collaboration and principled negotiation, we have successfully navigated an unprecedented path, one that has now reached a fair and mutually agreeable resolution,” Mensah’s agency, Young Money APAA Sports, said in a statement issued to Max Olson of ESPN.com.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. It’s possible that Mensah made a payment to Duke (one for which his next school may reimburse him), or that Duke realized that suing players may not be good for recruiting.
Duke’s statement seems to acknowledge the fact that it’s a delicate business to take student-athletes to court.
“We are committed to fulfilling all promises and obligations Duke makes to our student-athletes when we enter into contractual agreements with them, and we expect the same in return,” Duke said in a statement, per Olson. “Enforcing those agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs. It is nonetheless a difficult choice to pursue legal action against a student and teammate; for this reason we sought to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.
“Duke remains dedicated to the welfare of all student-athletes, and we appreciate them for the talent, dedication, and commitment to excellence they demonstrate both on and off the field. We also remain committed to upholding the integrity of our athletics programs and institutional guidelines. We thank Darian for his contributions to Duke University.”
The bigger, and unaddressed (in this case), issue is the extent to which his presumed destination (Miami) may have ignored the contract and enticed Mensah to South Florida. As Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last week, tampering is currently rampant in college football.
In normal business, it’s called tortious interference. And if Miami did in fact pursue Mensah despite knowing about his Duke contract, Miami is the real villain in this.
Apparently, there are plenty of villains in college football, where the operative mantra isn’t “right versus wrong” but “when in Rome.”
