There's an interesting drama playing out with a freshman from Florida, Xavier Lewis, who attended Wisconsin this year. He was highly ranked as a Cornerback and proved it on the field as a freshman. He asked for his release, which alarmingly has happened to about 25 Badgers since Thanksgiving. All but one the Badgers athletic department filed the appropriate paperwork.
Not Lewis. He's now saying the Badgers are holding him hostage. Why didn't the Badgers file the portal entry like they did with all the others?
No one knows. Big risk to take because the pundits slants are making UW coach Fickell and AD Macintosh look bad. So why aren't they giving this kid the release?
He was recruited heavily by Miami where he's from and FSU. Speculation is the only thing we have right now. Most speculators assume that there was some tampering going on with Miami. One can imagine UW has a 'case' to defend their action because this sort of thing could very negatively impact recruiting if they're blocking it just to spite the kid for some aggrievement.
Watching how this plays out could impact the way things are done in this wild west world of portal/NIL wreaking havoc on our favorite sports.