Portions of the testimony given by Vanderbilt senior Chase Garnham in the O'Bannon vs. NCAA case surfaced Tuesday, identifying the linebacker's concerns about a release form he felt he was forced to sign to be eligible to compete this season.
The Birmingham News reported that the senior linebacker reluctantly agreed to sign a form that gave Vanderbilt permission to use his name, image and likeness after testifying in October that athletics director David Williams told him that he could not play without signing the release form.
Williams could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Vanderbilt did not permit Garnham to answer questions about the lawsuit on Tuesday. Garnham has not commented on the lawsuit all season.
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In July, Garnham became one of six active NCAA players to join as plaintiffs to the class-action lawsuit that is going after the NCAA's use of college athletes' images and likeness without compensation.
According to the report, Garnham contacted his lawyer and agreed to sign the form "with a note at the bottom of the form expressing my understanding that I had to sign the form in order to play, not just to be eligible."
"They told me that they didn't know how that I would - how I would play if I did not sign those forms, that no one has ever not signed those forms before," Garnham said, according to a transcript of his deposition in the report.
The specific language that Garnham had concerns about was not addressed in the deposition, according to the report.
The specific language that Garnham had concerns about was not addressed in the deposition, according to the report.
After sustaining a leg injury in a season-opening loss to Ole Miss, Garnham has played in five games this season. He recorded 19 tackles (one for loss) and had one interception. His 10 tackles (seven solo) against Tennessee earned him Southeastern Conference defensive player of the week honors last month.
The report states that Kevin Lennon, the NCAA's vice president for academic and membership affairs, testified that refusal to sign these forms would not result in a loss of eligibility.
Garnham testified Vanderbilt associate athletics director Candice Storey Lee sent the following in an e-mail on Aug. 1, according to the report:
"Chase, I wanted to send this e-mail because I believe you may be confused about the forms you were asked to sign yesterday. When we met yesterday, you indicated that you wanted to talk with your attorney before signing the portion of the forms that relate to the use of your name and likeness. I said that was fine, and as I explained, you were not required to sign these portions of the forms to be eligible to play on the Vanderbilt football team. ....
"You do have to sign these portions of the form in order to appear in the media guide and in other promotional materials, but that's your decision. You are free to decline to allow us to use your picture and these materials and still play on the team. It is your choice whether you want to be a part of the promotional materials, etc cetera, or not. ...
"If you want the signed forms back and don't want to be in promotional materials, please let me know. In that event, the NCAA, SEC and Vanderbilt won't use your name or likeness for any of the limited promotional purposes that are permitted by the form, although we won't be able to reverse any use that has already occurred today at media day."
Lee said Vanderbilt does not comment on ongoing litigation.
