Florida CFO threatens to sue NCAA over FSU football player’s eligibility

By Matt Baker
Times staff
Published Yesterday
One of Florida’s top elected officials is pressing the NCAA and threatening litigation over the eligibility of Florida State transfer Darrell Jackson.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis sent a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker on Tuesday requesting details about waivers for Jackson and another transfer, North Carolina receiver Tez Walker.
Both transferred twice, and both were initially ruled ineligible because of it. But the NCAA reversed its ruling on Walker earlier this month, citing “new information” it received. Jackson remains sidelined for the No. 4 Seminoles, which Patronis — an FSU alumnus — called a “double standard.”
“They’re really destroying this young man,” Patronis said Wednesday in an interview, “and I don’t even know if they really think about it in that way.”
Patronis is trying to do something about it. His letter to the NCAA served as a public request for documents related to both cases. Because the cases have not played out in a courtroom, he can’t see how the facts or arguments around Walker’s case differ from those with Jackson.
Patronis wrote that any documents the NCAA provides “will assist the state with the discovery phase in any necessary legal proceedings.”
“Going through the litigation route would be painful,” Patronis told the Tampa Bay Times. “It would have some expense to it. And if that’s what the NCAA wants to do, then by gosh, we’re going to do it.”
Jackson initially signed with Maryland as a three-star defensive lineman in the 2021 class. He recorded 22 tackles in 13 games (one start) with the Terrapins before transferring to Miami, where he started every game last year.
In December, he decided to transfer to FSU. Both Jackson and his mother have said he did so because she was ill; his family is from Gadsden County, just outside Tallahassee.
Because Jackson already used his one free transfer, he needed a waiver to play immediately at FSU. The NCAA denied it in August, though he will be allowed to play in the postseason after the end of the fall semester.
“It was hurtful, because I know what I came home for,” Jackson told reporters then. “I came home for my mom.”
The timing of Jackson’s transfer is notable to Patronis, too. Jackson made his decision before a January vote by the NCAA’s Division I Council to crack down on the eligibility of two-time transfers.
“They pulled the rug from underneath this guy,” Patronis said. “From top to bottom, it just stinks.”
Walker was in a similar situation at North Carolina after going from North Carolina Central to Kent State to the Tar Heels. It remains unclear to Patronis — and much of the college football world — what changed for the NCAA to reverse its decision. Walker has scored four touchdowns in the three games since taking the field for No. 17 North Carolina, which, like FSU, is an ACC championship contender.
“There’s this lack of consistency by the NCAA that, to me, it’s just unacceptable,” Patronis said.
This issue doesn’t fall under Patronis’ professional scope as CFO, but he’s pursuing it for several reasons. When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed because of the pandemic, he became more aware of how short athletes’ careers are. He’s worried about the impact on Jackson’s mental health, and he said the decision is “literally robbing him” of the chance to make money from name, image and likeness (NIL).
If necessary, Patronis said he’ll discuss antitrust laws with the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
“Do I want to go there? No,” Patronis said. “I hate taking people to court. It’s no fun. But what we’re talking about is doing the right thing, and the right thing is to let Darrell play.”
Patronis is at least the second state politician to become involved. In August, Sen. Marco Rubio sent his own letter to Baker asking the NCAA to reconsider because the decision “sends a wrong message to our young adults when confronted with family health.”