SoCalHoops Jurisprudence News
SoCalHoops Jurisprudence News
"The First Thing We Do, Let's
Kill All The Lawyers."
(Henry VI, Act 4, Scene 2)--(Dec. 13, 2001)
We're not trying to incite anyone to violence with the above quote....but c'mon.....sometimes even we've got to admit that some things are just waaayyyy over the edge.
We've seen some wacky stories, but this one (below) is pretty amazing. It's been all over the internet, so perhaps you've seen it elsewhere. This is not one of those "urban legends" but it's got all the makings of one. And it was just too good to not archive it here for the sake of posterity.....
In our view this one is right up there in the chronicles of "Someone getting bad advice," rating right up there with Ellis Richardson (remember him) from LA Poly HS, who in 1998, after averaging 20+ ppg as a high school senior, got it into his head that he was a "can't miss" pro prospect, and declared for the NBA draft out of high school. . .
We have no doubt that nuttier stuff has come up since Mr. Ellis made his departure from the hallowed halls of LA Poly in Sun Valley, but honestly, we just can't think of one which rivals what you're about to read below.
For those in a rush, we'll summarize it:
Janou Rubin, a sophomore walk-on guard at UCLA this year, has a younger brother who attends school in Northern California, specifcally in Union City. The younger brother, Jawaan, is a sophomore who played JV last year. The coach invited him to try out for varsity this season. Apparently so confident were his parents that Jawaan would be a varsity player, they rearranged their work and family schedules around the varsity practice times. But the coach had other ideas, and told Jawaan he was returning to the JV and would not be playing varsity. The parents complain that the coach didn't consult with them before cutting the son. The claim for damages? $1.5 Million, and the coach's head on a platter. . . .
Really. They really sued the school district for $1.5 million, and they have also sought the dismissal of the coach.
The claimed measure of damages? The kid's lost earnings as a professional.
Why? Because the coach didn't talk to them first about his decision, and because playing on the JV is arguably going to hurt the young man's pro prospects.
Sheesh.
Just imagine Michael Jordan's mother and father suing his high school coach when he was cut from his high school's JV team (really, that happened)....Hey, maybe it's not so far-fetched after all. . . .
People have been asking us what we think of this, from a legal perspective, and while it's hard to imagine this being taken entirely seriously by any court in the State of California, apparently some lawyer out there was willing to take this case. . .
Really, we're not making this up. Here's the story from the Associated Press as we found it in the San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner's The Gate:
Father seeks $1.5 million after son misses varsity spot
(12-11) 12:28 PST UNION CITY, Calif. (AP) --
The father of a high school sophomore seeks $1.5 million in damages and the dismissal of the school's basketball coach after his son did not make the varsity.
Lynn Rubin sued the New Haven Unified School District on Nov. 27 because his son, Jawaan Rubin, was told to return to the junior varsity after being asked to try out for varsity.
The family already had rearranged its schedules to accommodate the varsity team's practice times, the suit said.
Coach Blake Chong, who cited a policy limiting sophomores to junior varsity when he cut Jawaan Rubin, did not consult with the parents before cutting the boy, according to the suit.
Chong refused to comment Monday.
After the player confronted the coach about the decision, he was dropped from the junior varsity, the suit said.
Rubin's older son, Janou, starred under Chong at Logan High School and is a sophomore guard at UCLA. He said he calculated the damages based on potential wages lost from his son's possible professional basketball career.
