The suit alleges that McKillop and his assistant coaches aggressively recruited Bedford beginning in his sophomore year of high school in 1998, ultimately promising him in a letter a full four-year basketball scholarship worth $125,000, which Bedford and his parents verbally accepted, according to an article in The Davidsonian, the school's newspaper.
Bedford and his family claim that McKillop revoked the offer in October of 2001, crushing Bedford's hopes of playing Division I basketball and costing his family thousands of dollars in tuition money, according to The Davidsonian.
"You're hoping people don't treat kids this way," said Bedford's attorney Sean Callagy in a recent story in the Bergen Record, a local New Jersey newspaper. "But if it happens at Davidson, you can only wonder what goes on out there."
Bedford was an honor-roll student at both Bergen Catholic School and Lawrenceville Prep. Yet, in October of 2001 McKillop told Bedford that his application wasn't sufficient for admission to Davidson, according to the Record.
McKillop's letter never mentioned that Bedford's scholarship was based on his acceptance Callagy told the Record. The letter in question was sent to Bedford in July of 2001, according to The Davidsonian, and showed fairly strong intent by McKillop to offer Bedford a scholarship
"Whether it is his performance on the court, his credentials in the classroom or just the way he carries himself, John appears to have a consistent quest for excellence," wrote McKillop in the July letter. "I want to reaffirm my own personal commitment. I've told John that he has a full scholarship to Davidson College, and now I have put it in writing."
Although the letter seems to support Bedford's case, many sports experts and lawyers feel that Callagy may have a hard time proving that McKillop's letters and phone calls amounted to a binding contract, especially since Bedford never signed any written agreement.
Coach Dave Hixon '75, the Amherst men's head basketball coach, feels that trust is a major issue when it comes to recruiting throughout collegiate sports and at all levels in general. "We really try to get our kids to trust us, and one of the ways we do that is by having our recruits come in to speak to our current players," said Hixon. "Of course, it is a dog-eat-dog world," said Hixon, adding that both players and coaches can abuse each other's trust during the recruiting process.
A written statement issued by Davidson to the press questioned the merits of the suit. "From what we can tell, [Bedford's] lawyer seems more interested in publicizing the lawsuit. We are not interested in going the route of defending ourselves in the press," said the statement.
Despite all this, Callagy said that he believes that McKillop lied to Bedford by telling him his application wasn't sufficient, when in truth he had found other players he wanted more, according to the Record.
Bedford is currently enrolled at the College, which Callagy says has tougher admission standards than Davidson. Tuition at the College is expensive and Amherst doesn't offer athletic scholarships, according to the Record.
Bedford will join the College's basketball team this season playing at the Division III level.
The NCAA is investigating the matter to see if McKillop broke any regulations, according to the Record.
As far as the case goes, Robert Jarvis, a sports law professor from Florida, told the Record that the best Bedford could hope for in the lawsuit is $30,000, or one year's tuition, because "scholarships are offered as one-year contracts that can be renewed or canceled each year."
President Tom Gerety said that the nature of the athletic recruiting process is sometimes cutthroat. According to Gerety, there is a growing pressure on athletes and schools to sign things like pre-commitment letters.