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Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes a man of his words — long words

Josh Peter
USA TODAY Sports
Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes has been a fresh face in this season's NCAA tournament.

Nigel Hayes, a starting forward for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team, has emerged as a March Madness celebrity thanks to his puckish interactions with press-conference stenographers. But attorney Jeffrey Kessler points out it is not the first time Hayes faced a court reporter in March.

Less than three weeks before the opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, in fact, Hayes was deposed by NCAA attorneys — as part of a high-stakes lawsuit seeking free-market pay for college athletes.

"Nigel has many facets," said Kessler, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, "and there is indeed a serious side."

Sports fans have seen the playful side, with Hayes challenging a stenographer's skill by using words like cattywampus and onomatopoeia in a press conference. They've also seen his sheepish side, when Hayes, apparently unaware he was sitting in front of a live microphone, said of another stenographer, "She's beautiful."

This was not the same Hayes who sat across from attorneys while being questioned as one of three athletes who are the named plaintiffs on the case. The other two are Alec James, a football player at Wisconsin, and Martin Jenkins, a Clemson football player who completed his eligibility last season.

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A hearing is set for June on a motion to certify the suit as a class action with Hayes and the other two athletes serving as class representatives. If the suit goes to trial, Hayes will be expected to testify, according to Kessler, who also said Hayes, a 20-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, would be included in any settlement talks.

"I think you've seen his intelligence, his dedication, his wit on public display already," Kessler said. "He brings that and a lot more to the table.

"Each of the players who step forward have to be those who can serve as leaders, who were willing to put themselves on the line for others, who were seeking really nothing out of the case themselves, but were doing this for future generations of players and would have the intelligence and dedication and fortitude to assume that role. Nigel clearly met all those criteria."

Kessler said a confidentiality order kept him from revealing details from the deposition but that the NCAA set out to test whether Hayes is an adequate class representative for the suit. Opposition papers have not been filed, so Kessler said he doesn't know how or if the NCAA intends to use material from the deposition.

When Hayes was asked about the matter last weekend, it was the the first time during the NCAA tournament he was (almost) mum.

After Wisconsin defeated Arizona in the West Region final on Saturday, Hayes noted that he had walked passed NCAA President Mark Emmert — who will be a lead defendant in suit — while the Wisconsin players went to get their Final Four hats.

"It was a little inside chuckle I had," Hayes said with a grin.

Then Hayes said his attorneys had instructed him not to discuss the case or his involvement in it. "I don't want to say the wrong thing or anything like that," he said.

But with an arched eyebrow, he added, "I'm just happy I'm allowed to be an NCAA student-athlete."

Hayes developed his beliefs that players should be compensated during last season, according to former teammate Zach Bohannon. Bohannon, then a senior, recalled Hayes as a "wide-eyed freshman" who took a strong interest in the locker-room discussions led by Bohannon, working with the National College Players Association (NCPA).

The NCPA helped with the Northwestern University football players' efforts to unionize.

"There's definitely a very serious side to Nigel that cares about sticking up for what he believes in," Bohannon said.

So when the NCPA reached out to Bohannon in search or active college athletes to serve as a class-representative plaintiffs for the Martin Jenkins suit, Bohannon said, he immediately thought of Hayes. Next thing Bohannon knew, his former teammate was on board with the suit and being deposed by the NCAA.

"Sounds like he knocked it out of the park from what I heard," said Bohannon, adding that he got a report from Ramogi Huma, president of the NCPA. Bohannon said Huma told him in a voicemail that "Nigel knocked it out of the park, that the lawyers were totally ecstatic for everything he did and it helped out with the case."

Huma did not respond to a request for comment.

Nigel Hayes hopes his next chance to cut down the nets is Monday night in Indianapolis.

Bohannon said he also exchanged text messages with Hayes after the deposition.

"He said, 'Yeah, I just felt like I meant what I said it's not anything out of the ordinary.' " Bohannon said. "It was just Nigel. That's what I thought was so unique. That's how Nigel is. He does what he does because that's what he thinks is right."

The news of Hayes' involvement in the case took his parents by surprise. They said he's always been an avid reader, kept up with current events and cared about people, but had never been involved anything political or much at all outside of basketball.

His father, Albert Davis, did note that his son developed his now-famous vocabulary as an avid reader of newspapers and magazines.

"If it were up to him, he would've walked around with a Thesaurus all day," his father said.

Kessler confirms that Hayes' vocabulary is formidable. The best in the room when the attorneys meet?

"I would not bet against him," Kessler said.

For the moment, Hayes' biggest test is the Final Four. Kessler said he's looking forward to watching him perform, and not just during the press conferences.

"I'd like to see Nigel get a chance to hold the trophy, too," he said.

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