JaMarcus Russell facing lawsuit over missing donation to high school football program  jamarcus,russell,facing,lawsuit,over,missing,donation,to,high,school,football,program,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl


Former first-overall NFL Draft selection JaMarcus Russell is facing a lawsuit over a check written to him in the summer of 2022, and allegations that the former NFL quarterback misappropriated donation funds for weight-room equipment at the school where Russell was a football coach for his benefit.

As first reported by WKRG it is alleged that Russell approached Chris Knowles seeking a donation for the football program at his alma mater, Williamson High School, where the former LSU passer was a volunteer coach. According to court documents obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation Knowles wrote a check to the retired quarterback, which he deposited at Navigator Credit Union (NCU) in July of 2022.

According to Simone Eli of WKRG, Knowles stopped payment on the $74,000 check when “ … Russell wouldn’t provide a receipt of the donation and quit returning his phone calls.” NCU then filed a Complaint against Russell in the Circuit Court for Mobile County in March of 2023, alleging that Russell breached the terms and conditions of his demand deposit account. Specifically, NCU alleges that Russell “ … breached the agreement by failing or refusing to comply with its payment terms and conditions and by specifically drawing a check on his account with [NCU] for which payment was stopped.”

The lawsuit filed by NCU against Russell — Case No. CV-2023-900559.00 — is seeking $56,826.08 in specific damages, plus “attorney fees, punitive damages, and costs.”

Russell, in his Answer to the Complaint which was obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation, generally denied the allegations set forth by NCU in the lawsuit. While admitting that he deposited the check, Russell, through counsel, asserted that he did not stop payment on the check. Russell has also demanded “strict proof” of the allegations set forth by NCU in their Complaint.

Furthermore, Russell has since filed a Third-Party Complaint against Knowles and Selwonk Enterprises, asserting that Knowles “ … stopped payment on the check causing substantial losses” to the retired QB.

The matter is set for a trial in October of this year.

According to WKRG Russell lost his volunteer position with Williamson High School last fall. “JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School during the fall of last year,” Mobile County Public School officials confirmed to WKRG.

WKRG also reports that Williamson High School “never saw any of the money.”

Wyndham Clark’s unexpected hot take on the Olympics over the Ryder Cup wyndham,clark,s,unexpected,hot,take,on,the,olympics,over,the,ryder,cup,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,olympics,ryder-cup-golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news


Wyndham Clark likes to give his opinion, even if the majority does not like it.

Last year, he attempted to call out Rory McIlroy and Team Europe before the Ryder Cup in Rome. He also missed the cut at The Masters earlier this year after calling out LIV Golf for its 54-hole tournaments.

However, his comment about the Olympics may be the hottest take ever.

Clark is one of the four Americans who will represent the United States in the Olympic golf tournament. He joins Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

“The Ryder Cup in golf is kind of the biggest thing, but now that golf’s in the Olympics, it’s probably even bigger than that because you’re representing your country at such a bigger level,” Clark said.

“Hopefully, all four of us can try to snag some podium spots and give medals to the U.S. to win that total medal count. But, yeah, it’s pretty awesome. This probably ranks as the coolest team I’ve ever made, for sure.”

The 2023 U.S. Open winner is entitled to his opinion. However, to call the Olympics a bigger country representation than the Ryder Cup as a professional golfer is quite interesting.

Clark made his Ryder Cup debut last September. Team Europe embarrassed Team USA in Rome. He scored 1.5 points for the Americans at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

“It is a nice weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that I made the team versus feeling like if I was trying to hold on,” he said. “So now that I made it, it doesn’t matter if you’re the No.1 guy or the fourth guy, as long as you make the team. So, it’s pretty awesome that I finally made it.”

Becoming an Olympian is quite an honor, so it makes sense for him to be this excited. Clark could also just be enthusiastic about wearing those patriotic J. Lindeberg outfits.

It is still odd to see a professional golfer rank any team over the Ryder Cup because it is one of the only times a golfer can play for his country alongside teammates.

Maybe Clark is just different, and becoming an Olympian is that special to him.

Is the Olympics a bigger deal than the Ryder Cup? Let us know in the comments.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.