{"id":162249,"date":"2026-09-03T18:13:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/03\/ncaa-swaps-law-firms-after-its-biglaw-lawyers-called-rhode-island-judge-dumb-in-email-cc-disaster\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T18:13:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:13:51","slug":"ncaa-swaps-law-firms-after-its-biglaw-lawyers-called-rhode-island-judge-dumb-in-email-cc-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/03\/ncaa-swaps-law-firms-after-its-biglaw-lawyers-called-rhode-island-judge-dumb-in-email-cc-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Swaps Law Firms After Its Biglaw Lawyers Called Rhode Island Judge \u2018Dumb\u2019 In Email CC Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NCAA has suffered a lot of self-inflicted legal injuries over the years, but the entity decided it couldn\u2019t sustain the revelation that its lawyers from Holland & Knight \u2014 man, two Holland & Knight stories in one day!<\/a> \u2014 were privately dissing the judge and mocking the plaintiff\u2019s medical conditions. So it got different lawyers.<\/p>\n

GoLocalProv<\/a>, the same publication that first reported<\/a> on the offending emails, reports that the association has installed Kate Gehl, a Foley & Lardner partner working out of Milwaukee, as lead counsel in Jake Picard v. National Collegiate Athletic Association<\/em>. Gehl\u2019s opening assignment is to argue against a temporary restraining order in front of a judge whose intelligence her predecessors questioned.<\/p>\n

Not the ideal set up when inheriting a file.<\/p>\n

The backstory<\/a>, for anyone who missed it: Jake Picard, a Providence-area football player who became an All-American at Villanova before tearing his ACL five games into last season, seeks a medical hardship waiver to play this season. Villanova petitioned for that waiver on his behalf, citing the knee as well as intestinal issues. The NCAA denied it multiple times, prompting Picard to sue in Pennsylvania, where he failed to secure an injunction. At that point, he withdrew that case and refiled the same day in Rhode Island under the state\u2019s antitrust law.<\/p>\n

In a world where LSU is actively signing NFL players, giving an injured player one more year at an FCS school feels like the bare minimum the NCAA could accommodate.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the middle of the legal maneuvering, Holland & Knight partner Taylor Askew informed the team that \u201cthe poop man cometh once more,\u201d referencing Picard\u2019s intestinal health and senior counsel Natalie Molz turned her attention to the plaintiff\u2019s mother \u2014 \u201cMama Picard really just can\u2019t give up her dreams for baby boy\u201d \u2014 and then mused about litigation tactics to make the case \u201ceasier for a dumb judge in RI.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did these emails see the light of day? It\u2019s a question a lot of people have asked ever since we wrote about it. Well, WPRI explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The email thread was forwarded as part of a message sent to Picard\u2019s attorney, Joseph Carnevale of Providence-based Savage Law Partners LLP, who responded by telling the attorneys he would share the contents with Superior Court Judge Brian Stern, who is assigned to the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cYikes guys\u2026 do better,\u201d Carnevale wrote to Cole, calling the email exchange \u201cclearly indicative of the NCAA\u2019s thoughts on all of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeel free to let me know if you need recommendations for accommodations in Providence,\u201d Carnevale added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recommendations. 10\/10. No notes.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, the bench in question is Judge Brian Stern. If the theory was that a state trial judge in a small jurisdiction needs analysis pre-chewed and vomited into his mouth like a baby bird, the NCAA drew the wrong judge. Stern has sat on the Rhode Island Superior Court since 2009 and has run its Business Calendar since 2011, meaning he\u2019s spent around fifteen years doing nothing but complex commercial litigation. As you might imagine, Picard\u2019s attorneys weren\u2019t going to let that go:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe unprofessional language used by the NCAA\u2019s counsel is insulting to us, our client, and the Rhode Island Judiciary. We have the utmost faith and confidence in the Rhode Island Judiciary, which we hold in the highest regard. This case is on the Superior Court Business Calendar and pending before Judge Brian Stern. Judge Stern has served as a Director of the American College of Business Court Judges and has been, along with his colleagues on the Business Calendar, a national thought leader on business law jurisprudence. He and all Rhode Island judges deserve the respect of all who enter their courtrooms, including the NCAA\u2019s attorneys,\u201d said Christopher J. Fragomeni, a partner at Savage Law Partners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Holland & Knight is apparently still on the Pennsylvania matter, but the NCAA seems to have thought better of sending the firm in front of Judge Stern at this point. So they lit the \u201cFoley-signal,\u201d which is like the Bat-signal but nerdier. Now they\u2019ll take over digging the NCAA out of this hole.<\/p>\n

As they say in football, it\u2019s all about bench depth.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post NCAA Swaps Law Firms After Its Biglaw Lawyers Called Rhode Island Judge \u2018Dumb\u2019 In Email CC Disaster<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

The NCAA has suffered a lot of self-inflicted legal injuries over the years, but the entity decided it couldn\u2019t sustain the revelation that its lawyers from Holland & Knight \u2014 man, two Holland & Knight stories in one day!<\/a> \u2014 were privately dissing the judge and mocking the plaintiff\u2019s medical conditions. So it got different lawyers.<\/p>\n

GoLocalProv<\/a>, the same publication that first reported<\/a> on the offending emails, reports that the association has installed Kate Gehl, a Foley & Lardner partner working out of Milwaukee, as lead counsel in Jake Picard v. National Collegiate Athletic Association<\/em>. Gehl\u2019s opening assignment is to argue against a temporary restraining order in front of a judge whose intelligence her predecessors questioned.<\/p>\n

Not the ideal set up when inheriting a file.<\/p>\n

The backstory<\/a>, for anyone who missed it: Jake Picard, a Providence-area football player who became an All-American at Villanova before tearing his ACL five games into last season, seeks a medical hardship waiver to play this season. Villanova petitioned for that waiver on his behalf, citing the knee as well as intestinal issues. The NCAA denied it multiple times, prompting Picard to sue in Pennsylvania, where he failed to secure an injunction. At that point, he withdrew that case and refiled the same day in Rhode Island under the state\u2019s antitrust law.<\/p>\n

In a world where LSU is actively signing NFL players, giving an injured player one more year at an FCS school feels like the bare minimum the NCAA could accommodate.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the middle of the legal maneuvering, Holland & Knight partner Taylor Askew informed the team that \u201cthe poop man cometh once more,\u201d referencing Picard\u2019s intestinal health and senior counsel Natalie Molz turned her attention to the plaintiff\u2019s mother \u2014 \u201cMama Picard really just can\u2019t give up her dreams for baby boy\u201d \u2014 and then mused about litigation tactics to make the case \u201ceasier for a dumb judge in RI.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did these emails see the light of day? It\u2019s a question a lot of people have asked ever since we wrote about it. Well, WPRI explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The email thread was forwarded as part of a message sent to Picard\u2019s attorney, Joseph Carnevale of Providence-based Savage Law Partners LLP, who responded by telling the attorneys he would share the contents with Superior Court Judge Brian Stern, who is assigned to the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cYikes guys\u2026 do better,\u201d Carnevale wrote to Cole, calling the email exchange \u201cclearly indicative of the NCAA\u2019s thoughts on all of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeel free to let me know if you need recommendations for accommodations in Providence,\u201d Carnevale added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recommendations. 10\/10. No notes.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, the bench in question is Judge Brian Stern. If the theory was that a state trial judge in a small jurisdiction needs analysis pre-chewed and vomited into his mouth like a baby bird, the NCAA drew the wrong judge. Stern has sat on the Rhode Island Superior Court since 2009 and has run its Business Calendar since 2011, meaning he\u2019s spent around fifteen years doing nothing but complex commercial litigation. As you might imagine, Picard\u2019s attorneys weren\u2019t going to let that go:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe unprofessional language used by the NCAA\u2019s counsel is insulting to us, our client, and the Rhode Island Judiciary. We have the utmost faith and confidence in the Rhode Island Judiciary, which we hold in the highest regard. This case is on the Superior Court Business Calendar and pending before Judge Brian Stern. Judge Stern has served as a Director of the American College of Business Court Judges and has been, along with his colleagues on the Business Calendar, a national thought leader on business law jurisprudence. He and all Rhode Island judges deserve the respect of all who enter their courtrooms, including the NCAA\u2019s attorneys,\u201d said Christopher J. Fragomeni, a partner at Savage Law Partners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Holland & Knight is apparently still on the Pennsylvania matter, but the NCAA seems to have thought better of sending the firm in front of Judge Stern at this point. So they lit the \u201cFoley-signal,\u201d which is like the Bat-signal but nerdier. Now they\u2019ll take over digging the NCAA out of this hole.<\/p>\n

As they say in football, it\u2019s all about bench depth.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NCAA has suffered a lot of self-inflicted legal injuries over the years, but the entity decided it couldn\u2019t sustain the revelation that its lawyers from Holland & Knight \u2014 man, two Holland & Knight stories in one day! \u2014 were privately dissing the judge and mocking the plaintiff\u2019s medical conditions. So it got different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Headshot-300x200-ypNgeW.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}