A former Wellington Sports Academy employee is suing the academy and its founder, former NFL player Jon Bostic, for $143,000 in back wages.
Andrew Foster of Fort Pierce filed the Palm Beach County Circuit Court lawsuit on July 13, four months after he resigned from the school because he said he wasn’t paid for two years worth of work.
Foster’s lawsuit follows a previous legal action involving the academy, the village’s first public-private partnership. That partnership now is on rocky terms following a June lawsuit filed by the academy against the village, only a year after the academy opened.
In his complaint, Foster said he was “heavily” involved in building the school and was promised a partnership in the venture.
“You take somebody at their word, you put in the sweat equity, promises are made, and none of them came to be,” said Arthur Schofield, Foster’s lawyer. “At the end of the day, my client is holding this bag of nothing.”
In an email, Wellington Sports Academy lawyer Joshua Dubin called the lawsuit “a sad attempt by a disgruntled former employee to try to embarrass the Wellington Sports Academy and Mr. Bostic.”
Dubin added: “WSA and Mr. Bostic will vigorously defend the lawsuit and the truth will come to light, which is that these claims are completely meritness.”
Wellington Sports Academy’s partnership with village
The Wellington Sports Academy opened in 2025 offering an elite coaching staff for students aspiring to play sports in college or even the professional leagues. It is the brainchild of Bostic, who grew up in Wellington.
The academy’s 112,000-square foot facility was built at the public Village Park at 11700 Pierson Road.
Village officials hailed Wellington Sports Academy as a victory because it would create a sports facility to benefit residents and the community while helping youth and amateur athletes.
A 2022 agreement gave the academy use of Village Park, including its parking and ball fields. To help finance construction of a new $36 million sports facility at the park, the village also issued $33 million in bonds.
But after only one year of operation, the partnership between the academy and Wellington is fraying.
On June 29, Wellington Sports Academy sued the village, alleging breach of contract, among other claims. Among the allegations: The village is limiting the academy’s use of the site’s sports fields and parking spots, in violation of the contract.
Both sides also disagree about whether Wellington Sports Academy is paying what it owes on a licensing fee that makes payment on the $33 million bond. The sports academy says it is paying what is owed, but the village says some money incorrectly is being held back.
Village Manager Jim Barnes said the village is aware of the Foster lawsuit but would not comment.
Bostic, Foster ties go back to Palm Beach Central High School, lawsuit says
In his lawsuit, Foster said his ties with Bostic run deep.
The two men played football together at Palm Beach Central High School, with Bostic going on to play for the Florida Gators and then in the National Football League.
Foster’s life took a different turn. He was convicted of offenses related to discharging a firearm from a vehicle, criminal mischief and drug offenses, court records show. He was sentenced to prison in 2016 and released in December 2019. He’s had no further brushes with the law, Schofield said.
The lawsuit said Bostic and Foster connected after Foster’s release and his subsequent work for a school in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The complaint said Foster suggested Bostic shape Wellington Sports Academy into a school, which Foster said would bolster its business model.
But Dubin said Bostic and Wellington Sports Academy were advised by School Development Services, a Tampa-based professional school consulting firm.
Foster’s lawsuit said Bostic initially promised he would be made a partner “and would be compensated fairly,” despite Bostic’s knowledge of Foster’s status as a felon.
Then Foster claimed he was promised a cut of the money from Florida’s taxpayer-funded private school voucher program, which Wellington Sports Academy students participate in. Students can receive about $8,000 per year for attendance at a nonpublic school.
Dubin, Bostic’s lawyer, denied Foster’s claims.
‘I can’t afford it anymore,’ Bostic wrote in 2025 email, lawsuit alleges
In August 2025, Bostic sent an email to Foster, expressing frustration at the unexpectedly high costs of running Wellington Sports Academy, according to court records. Bostic also detailed how he planned to pay Foster, the records show.
“At this point, I’ve reached a place where it no longer makes financial sense for me to keep pouring money into an investment that, as things stand, won’t generate a return for 4-5 years,” Bostic wrote in the email.
He added: “The reality is: I can’t afford it anymore. I’m sacrificing for others while taking from my own family, and I simply can’t do that.”
Dubin said Bostic’s August 2025 money concerns were tied to unexpected first-year school costs. These included out-of-town travel costs for student participation in the American Basketball Association Conference.
Those concerns are in the past, Dubin said. Since then, the sports academy has found its footing.
In fact, 13 seniors who joined the program last year are competing at the collegiate level, he said. And in the past week alone, four more student-athletes from an upcoming senior class announced college commitments, he said.
Like any new program, the school learned lessons during its first year, but Dubin said the school has strengthened its operations and boosted its leadership team.
“We remain fully committed to operating and growing The Sports Academy of Wellington,” Dubin said.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ex-NFL pro hit with lawsuit from former school employee | Exclusive
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
