Six former junior college football players are seeking $30 million in a lawsuit that claims they were portrayed inaccurately on the Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U,” Front Office Sports reported Tuesday.
The athletes, who were featured on the show while playing at East Mississippi Community College during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, reportedly filed the suit in Los Angeles earlier this month.
Netflix, East Mississippi Community College, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), production company Conde Nast and the executive producer of “Last Chance U” were listed as defendants in the case.
The players argued that they were portrayed in “misleading, offensive, or highly objectionable” ways and were not paid for appearing in the successful docuseries, even though East Mississippi Community College profited through merchandise sales and Nast got “a large amount of money from Netflix.”
“Make no mistake, each of the defendants have been unjustly enriched by intruding upon the private lives of the plaintiffs, taking unfair advantage of them through defendants’ superior bargaining power, manipulating many of plaintiffs’ characters, along with other means for their own financial gain while sacrificing any decent reputation plaintiffs had,” John Pierce, the players’ attorney, wrote in the suit.
Players were also repeatedly pressured to sign contracts without knowing how the show was being marketed, the suit alleged.
“Plaintiffs were misled and unaware of the potential commercial value the footage had,” the lawsuit said. “However, defendants were aware of the high probability the documentary would turn into a highly profitable production.”
One of the players, Ronald Ollie, contended that his portrayal on the docuseries contributed to him going unsigned by the Baltimore Ravens and being released by the then-Oakland Raiders during the 2019 preseason.
“The image that Ronald Ollie being lazy, unmotivated, and lacking work ethic is a false narrative,” the lawsuit said. “However, ‘Last Chance U’ portrayed him in a false light which destroyed career opportunities for Ronald Ollie.”
Netflix declined Front Office Sports’ request for comment, while the other defendants did not provide a comment.
John Franklin III, Cary Sidney Reavis II, Deandre Johnson, Tim Bonner and Isaiah Wright were the other five plaintiffs who appeared on the football version of “Last Chance U,” which ended in 2020 after five seasons.
–Field Level Media
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