By Myles White
This article discusses a case arising out of events that took place during and after the 2020-2021 academic and athletic school year, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plaintiffs in this case were comprised of nine women’s basketball players that were recruited to play basketball at Lenoir- Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. During the height of the pandemic, the team had been battling with racial tensions and discrimination that later resulted in coaches and athletic leadership to step in and call a meeting with the team. At this meeting, it was insisted that the team would limit communication and only discuss things that were related to basketball and the goals of the team for the upcoming year. Laney Fox (plaintiff), was the sole leader of this upheaval and wanted to bring light to the situation. To add more fuel to the fire, she would later host a symposium for the team and campus administrators to discuss concerns and experiences of racial prejudice to be followed by yet another meeting to discuss experiences involving discrimination and racism. Fox would claim that the head coach retaliated against her and other African American teammates following the conclusion of these events and ultimately led to her and her teammates being forced off of the team at the conclusion of the 2020-21 basketball season.
Plaintiff Fox and the coaches had a meeting regarding the effects and the dismissal from the team. The coaches stated that she did not fit with the culture that the team needed at the moment and that they wanted to part ways with her immediately. The University relied that it would still honor her Grant-In-Aid (GIA) contract to pay her scholarship for the remainder of the year, but she would not be welcomed back to the team. In response to the decision of the coaches, plaintiff Fox published a letter that was posted on a social media platform, addressed to Lenoir- Rhyne University and combined with pictures entitled “The Racist ‘Culture’ of Lenoir-Rhyne University” listing quotes of racism from her teammates, coaches, and other NCAA personnel. The letter signified reasons for the claims of racism, players being forced to leave, and coaches’ discriminatory comments towards them. This letter initiated a response from the president of Lenoir-Rhyne University, Fredrick Whitt, who subsequently published a letter with the following statement:
“Yesterday, a former student athlete published false claims on social media with also stating she was dismissed from the women’s basketball program for speaking out against racism and fighting for social justice. Lenoir-Rhyne is against the student’s version of events. The dismissal from the program was a collective and intentional coaching decision and all the claims are false.”
On July 8, 2021, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Lenoir-Rhyne, Grahm Smith, and Frederick Whitt, alleging breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference with contractual rights, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and libel. Defendants filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, and the trial court granted the motion to dismiss in part by dismissing the claims against Smith but leaving the breach of contract claim and the claim for libel, subject to two interpretations against Lenoir-Rhyne and Whitt. After reviewing the evidence, the trial court ultimately granted summary judgment to defendants, which plaintiffs appealed.
Plaintiffs list three issues on appeal: (a) whether the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in defendants’ favor for plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim and plaintiff Fox’s libel claim; (b) whether plaintiffs are entitled to mental and emotional distress damages under the breach of contract claim; and (c) whether plaintiff Fox presented sufficient evidence for punitive damages on her libel claim.
Breach of Contract
Each of the plaintiffs signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) contract when deciding to attend Lenoir-Rhyne University to play basketball. For each player to be able to receive their awarded scholarship they had to complete a Grant-In-Aid (GIA) contract for the 2020-2021 season. That scholarship would be labeled on the contract for a one-year time period under NCAA and Lenoir-Rhyne University policy. Plaintiffs stated that they had an oral contract agreement that gave the players four years of scholarship eligibility and that was supposed to be honored. After careful and thorough investigation, the NLI and GIA contracts were addressed and showed that the contracts were for one year of limitations and were nullified under the policies and procedures which every player signed that had an option of opting out of for the athletic and academic school year for 2020-2021. The evidence in the record demonstrates the only obligation listed is to notify the student athlete of the institution’s decision, but there is no obligation to renew the grant for the following year. Accordingly, based upon the record before the court, plaintiffs fail to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact as to any breach of contract of the GIA terms by defendants.
Negligent Misrepresentation
Plaintiff Fox also stated that the University president defamed her through the letter and statement he made and that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on her libel claim. Although she cited numerous cases in support, Fox made no real argument or legal analysis to support that the evidence submitted at the time of the grant of summary judgment was sufficient for each element of defamation and that a genuine issue of material fact was present as to her claim. As such, the court ruled that Fox’s challenge was overruled and that the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendants.
Conclusion
Having found that there was no breach of contract with respect to any of the contractual claims made in the appeal, the court did not consider the alleged emotional or mental distress damages argued by the plaintiffs and affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment motion in favor of the defendants.
References
Fox v. Lenior Rhyne University No. COA24-16 (Ct. App. NC. 2024). https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-court-of-appeals/116738219.html
Myles White is a doctoral student in Sport Management at Troy University. He also is an Assistant Athletic Director at Fayetteville State University who is over marketing, development, and operations and holds a master’s degree in Sport Management from East Carolina University. Recently he was promoted to Director of Football Operations as another role he will coordinate starting this year of 2025.
