Broken Promise: Inside a Semi-Pro Nightmare, Part Five
August 25, 2016 by Terrance Biggs
We’ve discussed the personal stories of various players, coaches and volunteers. Apparently, this has not gone unnoticed by the RPFL. Numerous times the question of how much money I was a making for these articles arose. Simple answer: Nothing. I am not receiving and compensation for writing these. I will testify to this under oath, if need be. Also, no one interviewed has ever been promised any money for speaking on the record by myself or Louisiana Gridiron Football. In a later installment, we will be discussing the ethics of those currently involved with the RPFL.
Kicker Jerry Phillips, intrigued by the lure of the league, decoded to try out. Here are his words:
Can you elaborate on you RPFL experience?
Phillips: I agreed to pay the 150 for a tryout in Michigan at a high school field. I did very well, making all of my field goals, crushing punts, and hitting touchbacks on kickoffs. The staff was impressed, and the coaches all talked to me about the draft. Quentin took me up to the press box and offered me a letter to attend the official league draft. He ranked me high on the list of prospects and expected me to be drafted in the first round, promising that I would get paid between 18-20,000 for the season for signing. After that day, I never heard from anyone in the league until the day of the scheduled draft. I was unable to attend, but I streamed it live on my phone. It started late, and I was not drafted until the 7th round.
The head coach called me and informed of his decision. Since I wasn’t drafted in the first round, I would not be receiving any money up as a signing bonus. A few weeks later I received my league my contract in an email and laughed at how ridiculous it was. Then someone called asking about purchasing insurance, a background check, and a physical. I don’t remember the costs, but I said no thanks. On top of that, I was going to have to quit my job to make the practices and games, and decided that this was not in my best interest. I informed them I would not be playing this year before spending any more money on this scam.
How much did you get paid ?
Phillips: I was never paid for anything.
When did things go bad?
Phillips: Things went bad the day I got my contract in an email and started getting calls asking for money for a physical, insurance, and background check. I consulted a few people and quickly came to realize this was a joke.
Note; According to Tanner Melson and Darrin Tucker, they paid for background checks they never received.
The website for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission : https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/background_checks_employers.cfm
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- Tell the applicant or employee you might use the information for decisions about his or her employment. This notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format. The notice can’t be in an employment application. You can include some minor additional information in the notice (like a brief description of the nature of consumer reports), but only if it doesn’t confuse or detract from the notice.
Phillips received his request for a background check via phone. The league needed to obtain his consent in writing.
What message do you have for anyone interested in the RPFL?
Phillips:
Stay away. Don’t give up the dream of playing, but this league isn’t worth it. There are plenty of decent semi-pro teams and leagues around the country that may only require a small team fee to participate.
Phillips is one of the smart ones. He saw something that went sideways early and left. In upcoming installments, we will discuss the connection between semi-pro teams and the RPFL.
The Other Side: For the numerous RPFL detractors, there are scant proponents. One of which is former Akron Blaze defender Alex Noble. Noble provided an intriguing interview. So, there’s no confusion, I uploaded his messages for clearer reading.
Noble seems to articulate his support for the RPFL here:
The Topic of player compensation arose:
Question: Is the RPFL actually paying players or just “hooking them up”? Very cloudy here.
Question: What were the off-field bonuses for?
This is confusing. The Tennessee Titans sign Noble and apparently release him due to a lack of film? What was the purpose of playing in the RPFL in the first place? None of this makes any sense. If you are signed to an NFL team, you will not be released for lack of film. Chances are, a scout already watched you play and deemed it necessary to sign you.
How did Noble earn his RPFL bonuses? The screenshot on the left is his answer. The one on the left is former Akron Blaze Head Coach Gary Hutt in 2014.
Two years ago, Noble refused any bonus money from the RPFL. Two years later, he claims he did? What proof does Noble have? The left screenshot details a 1099 tax form being filled out. Noble’s answer also proclaims only five Blaze were paid that entire season. No one else reached any milestone?
Akron native Ted Jones also thought the RPFL would bring high-caliber action to Northeast Ohio.
Q: What was your RPFL experience?
Jones: Well we had heard about a “pro team” coming to Akron years in the making. In 2014, when it was supposed be coming together., I figured it would be a way for me to get back into football, without having to play semi pro. All over news outlets, Quentin Hines advertised this the league, with incentives that could add up to a few thousand dollars. We went through the tryout which was $150 . After that, everything started to go downhill fast.
Our coaches and most of our players and coaches were true semipro players and coaches. Some were fresh outta high school some and there were only maybe 3 of us who had actual division 1 college experience. We had trouble getting guys to come play because even they knew everything seemed sketchy. So, we played games with barely any linemen.
By the time contracts came we went from being able to make thousands to it being the best by position gets $100, which I did not get either. I asked Quentin for film of our games to shop it around some pro teams here or in Canada. He seemed to shrug it off. We played 4 games for him. He cancelled the rest of our season after the 4th game, but kept letting the teams in Michigan play each other. Then decided to have an all star game after the season, didn’t plan on inviting anyone from Akron, until I posted on his Facebook that none of us got the call to participate. He expected us with 2 days notice to play. That was the last I heard from Quentin Hines. Can’t pay the athletes, but all over Facebook flashing bundles of cash.
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