Salyers says OSU boosters promised her payment to care for OSU player

She had an oral contract, but that will be hard to prove in court.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- There was no written contract. No journal or log that accounts for the exact expenses that Kathleen Salyers said she incurred while caring for Boban Savovic or the $31,700 in cash she says she gave the former Ohio State basketball player for nearly four years.
Instead, the woman whose allegations brought down Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien and started an NCAA investigation into the program agreed to take Savovic into her home in exchange for what she says was a promise: That she would be paid $1,000 a month plus expenses.
In her lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Salyers is seeking more than $600,000 in damages from two Ohio State boosters she said made the promise.
"In the beginning they were wonderful to me," Salyers said of her former employers, Dan and Kim Roslovic. "I had no reason not to believe and trust them."
Oral contract
Proving the existence of an oral contract is not as simple as making the allegations, said Jeff Morris, a University of Dayton law professor.
"The problem with an oral contract is that it is more difficult to establish what the exact contours of the agreement are," he said. "It is compounded by our own recollection of the wording."
"This case is a very good case to demonstrate how difficult it is to prove an oral contract and to figure out what the people contracted for," said Greg Travalio, an Ohio State law professor.
Besides giving the player a place to live, Salyers claims that she gave Savovic $200 a week and later $150 a week and paid for food, clothing, trips, cell phone bills and car insurance.
NCAA rules prohibit student athletes from receiving financial help from anyone other than family members.
Ohio State fired O'Brien on June 8 after he admitted paying $6,000 to Aleksandar Radojevic, a recruit who never played for the Buckeyes. The payment came to light in Salyers' lawsuit.
Deny agreement
The Roslovics, now divorced, deny that there was any agreement with Salyers. Savovic says he only stayed with Salyers for a few weeks before he enrolled at Ohio State in 1998 and that she gave him pocket money from time to time.
Messages seeking further comment were left for Savovic, the Roslovics' and attorneys for all three. Savovic also did not respond to an e-mail message.
Morris said proving that existence of oral contracts requires evidence that can support those claims, such as bank accounts, canceled checks and witnesses.
"I don't think we will have too much difficulty proving the existence of the agreement," said Salyers' attorney, Jeffrey Lucas.
Travailo said another potential problem is that a judge could decide the contract is not enforceable if it broke NCAA rules.
Close relationship
Savovic, a member of 1998-99 Final Four team who came to the United States from war-torn Yugoslavia, clearly had a close relationship with Salyers.
Salyers has pictures that show them together with Salyers' children and pictures of Savovic taken at Christmas, his birthday and other events.
Salyers says there are witnesses familiar with the arrangement, including former Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi and neighbors who saw Savovic living at her home in suburban Gahanna. Biancardi, now the coach at Wright State University, has denied doing anything improper.