T
timmyboySome of you may have heard about the legal troubles that Ty Detmer has gotten into here in Texas. Unfortunately, most of the reports I have seen have been less than clear about what is going on. I wanted to clear that up at this point because I think it is casting a lot of doubt on Ty right now.
Ty Detmer has recently worked for a financial services company catering to athletes, called Triton Financial. Triton is under investigation for fraud. The SLTrib has more details on the story: http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14121042.
Let me make two things clear. First, it is important to note that the SEC has not sued Ty. Rather, Ty is being sued by a group of investors. This is a very relevant difference. Generally speaking, private plaintiffs such as the investors tend to bring in everyone and their dog in a lawsuit before various people who are determined after discovery to have clean hands are dismissed one at a time. On the other hand, the SEC takes the exact opposite approach. The SEC tends to only bring people into its suit as they are determined to have played a role. Although we should always presume innocence (or lack of liability), the fact that only the investors have brought Ty into the lawsuit and not the SEC (the SEC has also sued the main guy at the company) is very important to demonstrate that there is still a very good chance that Ty didn't do anything wrong. If the SEC had brought him in, I would have much greater concern over the likelihood that he was knowingly involved in something shady. Of course, even then he shouldn't be presumed liable.
Second, the SEC has only filed civil charges and has not filed criminal charges. Although criminal charges sometimes come later, this fact is very relevant to the degree of the fraud.
I don't know Ty Detmer, but everything I have read about him indicates that he is a man of character. I, for one, seriously doubt that he was knowingly involved in any fraud. I may be proved wrong, but I think you should all make the same assumption thus far based on the lawsuits and their nature.
Ty Detmer has recently worked for a financial services company catering to athletes, called Triton Financial. Triton is under investigation for fraud. The SLTrib has more details on the story: http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14121042.
Let me make two things clear. First, it is important to note that the SEC has not sued Ty. Rather, Ty is being sued by a group of investors. This is a very relevant difference. Generally speaking, private plaintiffs such as the investors tend to bring in everyone and their dog in a lawsuit before various people who are determined after discovery to have clean hands are dismissed one at a time. On the other hand, the SEC takes the exact opposite approach. The SEC tends to only bring people into its suit as they are determined to have played a role. Although we should always presume innocence (or lack of liability), the fact that only the investors have brought Ty into the lawsuit and not the SEC (the SEC has also sued the main guy at the company) is very important to demonstrate that there is still a very good chance that Ty didn't do anything wrong. If the SEC had brought him in, I would have much greater concern over the likelihood that he was knowingly involved in something shady. Of course, even then he shouldn't be presumed liable.
Second, the SEC has only filed civil charges and has not filed criminal charges. Although criminal charges sometimes come later, this fact is very relevant to the degree of the fraud.
I don't know Ty Detmer, but everything I have read about him indicates that he is a man of character. I, for one, seriously doubt that he was knowingly involved in any fraud. I may be proved wrong, but I think you should all make the same assumption thus far based on the lawsuits and their nature.