Ineligible Florida A&M football players Isaiah Land and Cameron Covin have retained an attorney to help them regain eligible status.
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, Land and Cameron — ruled suspended for the first four games of the regular season due to eligibility issues — are working with Arkansas-based attorney Tom Mars to file an appeal.
FAMU and the SWAC currently working to restore the eligibility of many of the players ahead of its game Sunday against Jackson State in the Orange Blossom Classic in Miami. Kickoff is 3 p.m. on ESPN2
Mars told the Democrat that was frustrated with how the school had been handling the situation.
“I’ve repped about 80 college athletes in eligibility cases in the past five years and have never had to sign forms and wait around for a school to ‘process’ my request to see what the school had sent to the NCAA legislative relief staff,” Mars told the newspaper. “With only one exception before now (Virginia Tech), the school’s compliance staff is happy to be receiving my help and gets me on board without delay.
“I don’t understand why FAMU is dragging its feet here.”
Mars went on to describe in a tweet that the FAMU circumstance was a “blunder.”
“I don’t think anyone in college sports has ever witnessed a bigger blunder on the part of a university or a more unfair punishment aimed at the players – the only people in this mess who did everything right.”
My take on the NCAA’s decision to suspend FAMU football players based on FAMU’s gross negligence. @Outkick @NCAA @JayBilas ⬇️ https://t.co/16213cGib9 pic.twitter.com/Yk4jofUZYI
— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) August 30, 2022
On Monday, 89 players addressed a letter to FAMU President Larry Robinson and school administrators detailing reasons why members of the ballclub were ineligible and the challenges they faced working with compliance and academic advisor personnel.
“You stated in your address on (Saturday) that, ‘We have shared a commitment to a culture of accountability and compliance,’” a portion of the stated. “Are the actions and staffing plans of the current university and athletic administrators in alignment with this statement?”
