Duke College filed a lawsuit Tuesday in opposition to its star quarterback, Darian Mensah, alleging that he had agreed to remain in Durham earlier than a last-minute announcement that he would discover switch alternatives.
Mensah, the second-team all-ACC sign caller who led Duke to its first convention soccer title since 1962, shocked the college final week when he introduced he’d be transferring. Enrolling and taking part in for an additional college would enable him to license his identify, picture and likeness to that faculty in an settlement that might imply more cash for Mensah than what he’s getting from the Blue Devils.
The college had introduced on Dec. 20 that Mensah was staying for at the least one other soccer season.
On Tuesday, he was nonetheless listed on the college’s 2026 soccer roster as a redshirt junior, that means he’d have two extra seasons of faculty eligibility.
Duke and Mensah agreed to a “multi-year contract” in July 2025 that runs via Dec. 31, 2026, based on the college’s lawsuit filed in Durham County Superior Courtroom.
“Duke has met all of its obligations below that contract,” the college’s criticism stated. “As not too long ago as December 2025, Mensah affirmed his dedication to Duke College.”
Mensah introduced this departure on the final day to enter the switch portal, “as if his obligations to Duke College don’t exist,” the college stated in its go well with.
Reps for Mensah couldn’t be instantly reached for touch upon Tuesday.
The lawsuit consists of Mensah’s contract with the college, although cost quantities had been redacted.
Mensah’s scenario bears some resemblance to the awkward relationship between the College of Washington and its star QB, Demond Williams, Jr.
Williams had allegedly agreed to a brand new multimillion-dollar identify, picture and likeness settlement to remain in Seattle earlier than reversing course to enter the switch portal.
The about-face was significantly acrimonious as Williams introduced his deliberate departure the identical day the college was holding a memorial for Mia Hamant, a goalkeeper for the Huskies girls’s soccer staff who died in November.
The college reportedly threatened authorized motion earlier than Williams introduced he was staying at U-Dub and apologized for the timing of his deliberate departure.
And 16 months in the past, beginning UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka give up his 3-0 staff, claiming monetary commitments to him went unfulfilled.
UNLV and its collective, Buddies of UNILV, pushed again on the student-athlete’s allegations.
Sluka left Las Vegas along with his remaining yr of eligibility intact. Sluka landed at James Madison the place he was a backup for the No. 19 Dukes, throwing 11 passes all yr.
