Florida Senator Marco Rubio threw substantial attention to the plight of University of Central Florida (UCF) football player Donald De La Haye, who was recently rendered ineligible from playing in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) governed football league after a YouTube video he posted was monetized.
Senator Rubio’s tweet, mistakenly attributing blame for the punitive actions to the NCAA rather than the University of Central Florida, attracted much attention from online communities and politicians, ranging from YouTube host Phillip DeFranco to former Florida Speaker of the House, Will Weatherford in a now-deleted tweet.
The @NCAA is out of control. They ruled Central Florida kicker ineligible over YouTube videos https://t.co/gqGR1FWhU6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 1, 2017
The controversy arises from the enforcement of strict NCAA regulations regarding college athletes rights to monetize their athletic activities. The NCAA – which runs an $800 million budget per annum – maintains what some describe as a monopoly over all monetization rights in college football. College athletes are prohibited from engaging in any business transactions, brand marketing deals or other extracurricular activities which allow them to pursue financial benefit from their athletic achievements.
Donald De La Haye received notice from UCF that he would be losing his eligibility to participate in the team after he failed to reach a compromise with the NCAA over the monetization of his YouTube channel. While it was the school that ultimately made the decision to pull De La Haye’s scholarship, it is MSN’s Dan Wolken who commented on the issue, saying “It is a distinction, without a difference.”
De La Haye released a 5 minute long video detailing the situation he is in, and the pyrrhic choice he was offered by the NCAA – hamstring the growth of his budding YouTube channel, or lose his full-ride D1 scholarship and eligibility in the NCAA.
“In the end, I don’t feel like there was any compromising really happening. They wanted me to give up the money I made, wanted me to take down my videos, which I worked so hard for and wasn’t comfortable doing. It was just very unfair in my opinion, and now I’ve got to deal with the consequences. And the consequences are no more college football. And since I can’t play college football, no more scholarship. D*mn. Life hit me fast, very fast.”
His video, along with outrage from Senator Rubio and others, is shining a spotlight on the often dirty, exploitive practices employed to maintain control over the incredibly lucrative college football industry. The NCAA has yet to respond in any measurable way to the existential problem just thrust into the public eye, but with mounting pressure from fans of the game, along with a now-critical eye from the U.S. Senate, perhaps there may be change.
