UCF kicker is a YouTube star, told to choose between the two

[BMF]

This is a sad state of affairs. If he was making money off of his football "fame" I could see the issue (i.e. every college "star" would exploit their fame), but he's just making random videos. The NCAA does not allow him to make money doing this...

UCF kicker says he was given ultimatum of choosing between football and popular YouTube channel

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/ucf-kicker-donald-de-la-haye/

UCF kicker Donald De La Haye has two passions in life: football and making videos.

While he’s a member of the Knights’ football team as a kickoff specialist, he’s also a YouTube star with over 52,000 subscribers; however, he may be forced to choose between the two.

On Saturday, June 10, De La Haye uploaded a new YouTube video titled, “Quit college sports or quit YouTube?”. In the video, the kicker showed up to a meeting at the football offices exclaiming he felt like it was Judgement Day.

“Everything’s going to go well,” he said in the video. “We’re just going to talk about ways that I can keep doing what I’m doing and follow the rules.”

It’s unclear who the meeting was with, but upon returning, De La Haye said he was basically given an ultimatum of choosing between football or YouTube videos.

“The meeting went well, but it didn’t go well at the same time,” he said. “Basically, I’m not allowed to make any money off of my YouTube videos. I’m working hard basically as a job — filming, editing and things of that sort, and I’m not allowed to make any money. If I do, then bad things happen for me. I feel like they’re making me pick between my passion for what I love to do shooting videos and entertaining and my other passion, playing football.”

De La Haye continued: “I’ve put in the work, and I’m not allowed to get any benefits from that work. My family’s struggling at home; there’s barely any food and tons of bills piling up. My mom’s struggling, calling me crying. And I’m not allowed to help. I thought I had found a way.”

De La Haye’s bio says he’s from Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he’s a rising junior. He played in all 13 games in 2016 as a kickoff specialist and totaled 37 touchbacks on the season.

Check out De La Haye’s emotional video below, and the meeting starts at approximately the seven-minute mark.

 

[gingerlover]

I don't like this. It's one thing to be selling autographs and memorabilia and another to find another avenue or side job if you will. I remember back in the early 2000s Colorado had a WR have to quit because he was on the Olympic ski team and had sponsors.

 

[maheo30]

 

[MidwestChomp]

I don't like this. It's one thing to be selling autographs and memorabilia and another to find another avenue or side job if you will. I remember back in the early 2000s Colorado had a WR have to quit because he was on the Olympic ski team and had sponsors.

Exactly what I was thinking. That was the biggest slap in the face to that guy. NCAA overstepped in that case and this case as well.

 

[EuroGator]

This is simply morally wrong. I hope the NCAA gets crushed in court over this. I know it's a challenge to figure all of this out, but this isn't cutting it.

 

[g8tr72]

No food?

What kind of car is that?

 

[GatorSkin]

No food?

What kind of car is that?

It's a Cadillac the struggle is real!!!!

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

It's a Cadillac the struggle is real!!!!

 

[T REX]

If you are on scholie then I get the rule. You can't be sure if his status as a football player is supplying viewership numbers. It's a gray area but I understand it. If he pays his own way he should be able to keep his "job".

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

Help me out with this. Are scholarship athletes allowed to have a normal job, let's say a construction job doing manual labor, working the counter at Subway or waiting tables (time constraints aside), in season or offseason? How about walk on players not on scholly, are they allowed to work? I don't know the rule on this and need some help.

 

[T REX]

Help me out with this. Are scholarship athletes allowed to have a normal job, let's say a construction job doing manual labor, working the counter at Subway or waiting tables (time constraints aside), in season or offseason? How about walk on players not on scholly, are they allowed to work? I don't know the rule on this and need some help.

507:1
STUDENT-ATHLETES: EMPLOYMENT
Student-athletes are allowed to work during th
e academic year, but must be monitored by the
Athletics Department to ensure that all rule
s regarding employment are followed. The Associate
Athletic Director of Compliance must approve
all employment during the academic year and a
statement signed by the student-athlete and employer must be on file.
All employment (official vacation periods, betw
een-term periods, summer or vacation periods)
is subject to University, Southeastern C
onference and NCAA rules and regulations (see
"Employment Guidelines" below). Each Head Co
ach should advise his/her student-athletes of
NCAA rules, regulations and restrictions so
as to preclude any employment violation.
The Recruiting Coordinator and coaches may a
ssist student-athletes secure employment.
Student-athletes may also contact the University
's Job Placement Office, as another source for
information regarding employment opportunities.
Coaches may cultivate support from members of booste
r organizations and friends of their sports
program in locating and matching employment oppor
tunities with their student-athletes. All
contacts with prospective employers and final j
ob placement must comply with the guidelines
established by the University and the NCAA. B
oosters, friends and employers must be briefed
regarding student-athlete employment restricti
ons and must agree to comply with these
regulations.
Employment Guidelines
The student-athlete, as a representative of LSU,
is expected to behave responsibly and perform
job duties to the best of his/her ability. If a st
udent-athlete is dismissed from a position because
of a poor attitude or job performance, he/she w
ill not be assisted in finding further employment.
The following rules apply to all types of student-athlete employment (Bylaw 12.4.1):
1.
The student-athlete must perform useful work.
2.
The rate of pay must be the regular rate paid for such duties.
3.
Hours paid must equal actual hours worked.
4.
Payment in advance of hours worked is not permitted.
5.
Transportation to the job site may be provided
only if such transportation is made available
to all employees.
507:2
6.
Student-athletes are responsible for complyi
ng with employment rules and are to report any
irregularities in employment compensation or benefits to the Compliance Coordinator.
NCAA Bylaw 12.4.2.1 allows for Fee-for-Lesson Inst
ruction (teaching or coaching sport skills
or techniques) provided the following:
1.
Institutional facilities are not used;
2.
Playing lessons shall not be permitted;
3.
The institution obtains and keeps on file documentation of the recipient of the lesson(s) and
the fee for the lesson(s) provided during any time of the year; and
4.
The compensation is paid by the lesson recipien
t (or the recipient’s family) and not another
individual or entity.

 

[T REX]

Sorry for the crappy editing

 

[NavetG8r]

Help me out with this. Are scholarship athletes allowed to have a normal job, let's say a construction job doing manual labor, working the counter at Subway or waiting tables (time constraints aside), in season or offseason? How about walk on players not on scholly, are they allowed to work? I don't know the rule on this and need some help.

Here's the problem. With YouTube, content creators make money from views via ad sense. Advertisements are run on their videos, and they get a kick-back based on how many people view their videos. There can be no doubt a star football player at a D1 school will have a number of viewers simply because they are football fans of his school and himself. That results in him making money from his football fans. Intentionally, or not.

He could legally as far as the NCAA is concerned, keep his channel and continue to upload content for his YouTube fans if he would disable ad sense. But he won't do that because then he no longer makes $$$ from his videos. By the way, in case anyone is interested in how much money can be made on YouTube, it's roughly $1 for every 1000 views.

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

507:1
STUDENT-ATHLETES: EMPLOYMENT
Student-athletes are allowed to work during th
e academic year, but must be monitored by the
Athletics Department to ensure that all rule
s regarding employment are followed. The Associate
Athletic Director of Compliance must approve
all employment during the academic year and a
statement signed by the student-athlete and employer must be on file.
All employment (official vacation periods, betw
een-term periods, summer or vacation periods)
is subject to University, Southeastern C
onference and NCAA rules and regulations (see
"Employment Guidelines" below). Each Head Co
ach should advise his/her student-athletes of
NCAA rules, regulations and restrictions so
as to preclude any employment violation.
The Recruiting Coordinator and coaches may a
ssist student-athletes secure employment.
Student-athletes may also contact the University
's Job Placement Office, as another source for
information regarding employment opportunities.
Coaches may cultivate support from members of booste
r organizations and friends of their sports
program in locating and matching employment oppor
tunities with their student-athletes. All
contacts with prospective employers and final j
ob placement must comply with the guidelines
established by the University and the NCAA. B
oosters, friends and employers must be briefed
regarding student-athlete employment restricti
ons and must agree to comply with these
regulations.
Employment Guidelines
The student-athlete, as a representative of LSU,
is expected to behave responsibly and perform
job duties to the best of his/her ability. If a st
udent-athlete is dismissed from a position because
of a poor attitude or job performance, he/she w
ill not be assisted in finding further employment.
The following rules apply to all types of student-athlete employment (Bylaw 12.4.1):
1.
The student-athlete must perform useful work.
2.
The rate of pay must be the regular rate paid for such duties.
3.
Hours paid must equal actual hours worked.
4.
Payment in advance of hours worked is not permitted.
5.
Transportation to the job site may be provided
only if such transportation is made available
to all employees.
507:2
6.
Student-athletes are responsible for complyi
ng with employment rules and are to report any
irregularities in employment compensation or benefits to the Compliance Coordinator.
NCAA Bylaw 12.4.2.1 allows for Fee-for-Lesson Inst
ruction (teaching or coaching sport skills
or techniques) provided the following:
1.
Institutional facilities are not used;
2.
Playing lessons shall not be permitted;
3.
The institution obtains and keeps on file documentation of the recipient of the lesson(s) and
the fee for the lesson(s) provided during any time of the year; and
4.
The compensation is paid by the lesson recipien
t (or the recipient’s family) and not another
individual or entity.

Thanks for the info. So what if a player gets a job waiting tables and instead of getting tipped by his patrons at 15-20%, he's getting 30% or 40%. Maybe he's getting 20% on the credit card slip and another 25% in cold hard cash. Who is to say it's because he's a great waiter/bartender rather than because he's a football player or vice versa. My point is there can be abuse of the rules in many different situations, some like the above example that may never come to light, so I think it's silly that this kid is getting hammered for YouTube videos. Let's be honest, how many people have ever heard of this kid? I doubt that all his followers are because he's a kicker for UCF.

 

[EuroGator]

No food?

What kind of car is that?

Yeah, I just watched the video and saw it was a newish looking Cadillac and couldn't stop smiling at the victim fail. The principle remains even if his sob story rings hollow.

 

[ChiefGator]

I bet there is a way around this ruling, perhaps with a trust that makes the money and borrows against its potential to assist his family. He needs a better lawyer.

 

[EuroGator]

Yeah, I just watched the video and saw it was a newish looking Cadillac and couldn't stop smiling at the victim fail. The principle remains even if his sob story rings hollow.

This was in the sidebar on YouTube when I watched this kicker's video. For the record, it was much better.

 

[GatorJ]

Here's the problem. With YouTube, content creators make money from views via ad sense. Advertisements are run on their videos, and they get a kick-back based on how many people view their videos. There can be no doubt a star football player at a D1 school will have a number of viewers simply because they are football fans of his school and himself. That results in him making money from his football fans. Intentionally, or not.

He could legally as far as the NCAA is concerned, keep his channel and continue to upload content for his YouTube fans if he would disable ad sense. But he won't do that because then he no longer makes $$$ from his videos. By the way, in case anyone is interested in how much money can be made on YouTube, it's roughly $1 for every 1000 views.

Did you just call the kick off specialist for UCF a football star?

 

[maheo30]

Did you just call the kick off specialist for UCF a football star?

Which means Chris Thompson was a star for us last year.

 

[NavetG8r]

Did you just call the kick off specialist for UCF a football star?

Star may have been a tad bit strong, but still, I'm pretty sure he'd pick up some extra views on his YouTube channel simply because they're UCF football fans.