Six members of the East Mississippi Community College football team, subject of the first two seasons of the hit Netflix series Last Chance U, have filed a lawsuit against the streaming giant, the school, Conde Nast Entertainment, the show's director, and the National Junior College Athletic Association over their portrayal in the series and their lack of compensation for what they say was forced participation.
The players involved in the suit are John Franklin III, Ronald Ollie, CJ Reavis, Deandre Johnson, Tim Bonner, and Isaiah Wright. Franklin finished his career at Auburn and Florida Atlantic before joining the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers; he received a ring as a member of the Bucs' Super Bowl squad even though he did not appear in a game, and at last check played in the CFL in 2024. Ollie transferred to ULM and eventually joined the Oakland Raiders. Reavis finished his college career at Marshall, played briefly for the Jacksonville Jaguars and is currently a Saskatchewan Roughrider. Johnson and Bonner also transferred to FBS schools and enjoyed brief professional careers.
Essentially, the plaintiffs argue they were not given the proper amount of time to review the contracts they signed to be part of the show, were threatened with expulsion from the team if they did not participate with the show, and did not receive a cut of the merchandise EMCC sold following the show. Wright, Ollie and Franklin also allege their reputations were damaged after being portrayed in a false light.
The group is seeking $30 million in damages.
"The most coercive tactic defendants used upon the plaintiffs was telling them if they did not sign the contracts, they were not eligible to practice," the plaintiffs' lawyer John Pierce said. "In turn, they would not be eligible to play games, and their football skills would deteriorate. Inability to practice meant closing the door on what they committed their whole life towards, eventually playing professional football. Plaintiffs had no real negotiation or any meaningful choice except signing what was presented to them without ever being instructed of the purpose of filming or being advised to read through the contract in its entirety."
Last Chance U's portrayal of East Mississippi's 2015 season was successful for the show's producers and its distributor. The show ultimately ran for five seasons and spawned a basketball spinoff that ran for two seasons.