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Wisconsin’s football team just can’t avoid problems and fires are popping up all over the place.

The Badgers finished the season 5-7, the program’s 22-year bowl streak is over, there was a mass exodus to the transfer portal, the QB room was completely rebuilt, and it feels like fans are starting to throw in the towel on Luke Fickell. It’s a disaster in Madison, and anyone who says otherwise isn’t paying attention.

One of the biggest problems is star cornerback Xavier Lucas wanting to transfer. He announced his intention to transfer back in December…..but Wisconsin refused to comply.

Wisconsin hasn’t complied with Xavier Lucas’ intent to transfer. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Wisconsin CB Xavier Lucas still isn’t in the transfer portal.

Lucas, a CB with legit NFL prospects, tweeted at the end of December that Wisconsin is blocking his transfer, and the belief is that the team is doing it in order to hold him to a deal he agreed to.

“BadgerExtra sources contend that Lucas had a signed deal in place with the program and the Badgers believe Lucas must honor it,” Colton Bartholomew reported in December.

Lucas’ counsel is now going on the record to address the insanity of the situation unfolding in Madison.

“I’m honestly shocked that Wisconsin has held on to whatever its position is for so long, essentially holding him hostage. It’s a shame. It’s disgusting. And I think the sooner that Wisconsin reverses course, the better it will be for the institution long-term, because people are watching,” Lucas’ counsel Darren Heitner told Bartholomew.

While there’s been previous reporting on an agreement being signed, Heitner says he has no knowledge of any such deal existing.

“I have not heard anything directly from the athletic department as to why he has not had his name put in the transfer portal as required. I’m very interested in learning if they have a justification, what that justification is, but as far as I’m concerned, there is no term or terms in a contract that give them the right to prevent him from transferring,” he further told Bartholomew.

Wisconsin didn’t speak with Bartholomew in response to the latest developments, but one thing seems rather obvious to me.

Either a deal exists or it doesn’t. There’s either a paper signed with numbers and an agreement printed on it, or there’s not.

There’s no way this should be that hard to figure out. It also seems like Wisconsin is willing to battle this out long term if it comes to it. It was only a matter of time before a program tried to put its foot down on the transfer portal and NIL. It appears Wisconsin might be about to lead the way in that fight, and you can guarantee things will only get much more chaotic the more this drags out.

Wisconsin’s football team continues to have problems, and the latest one revolves around star CB Xavier Lucas not being able to enter the transfer portal. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

With both sides gearing up for war, it appears the situation could get very ugly and turn into the latest problem for Luke Fickell. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.