I-Team: Former football player warns others about Atlanta JUCO football owner

By Randy Travis Published Oct. 12, 2021 ATLANTA - Two years ago, Deishan Lane of Fort Myers, Florida tried to warn others about a troubled college prep football program in Atlanta by using a typical Gen Z strategy: He posted his evidence on YouTube. "I’m thinking I feel like I’m giving this man way too much money," Lane told his followers. "Why is he asking for this much money?" The man he was talking about is Erasmus Harvey, a former Valdosta State linebacker who spent the last decade operating a series of junior college programs in Atlanta. He targeted high school players who needed to improve their grades or get more game film so they could eventually land an offer from a Division 1 football program. "I give them an opportunity to play ball," Harvey told the FOX 5 I-Team. "Because they’ve either screwed up something or they wasn’t ready yet." A good receiver in high school, Lane had let his grades slip and couldn’t pass the ACT. So in Summer 2019, he made a $1500 down payment to become an Atlanta Warrior and go to school online from a separate college Harvey had arranged. But the actual experience was not in Harvey’s brochure. "This was more like a Hunger Games," Lane told the FOX 5 I-Team.