NCAA president Mark Emmert said college sports’ governing body would stop selling individual jerseys and other team-related memorabilia on its website, calling the practice a “mistake” and admitting others might view it as hypocritical.
This is what is known as damage control.
The NCAA’s decision comes in the wake of ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas exposing the controversial enterprise on Twitter. Bilas criticized the NCAA for selling jerseys of popular football and basketball players on its ShopNCAAsports.com website.
Bilas has had my professional respect a long time and was absolutely right for calling the NCAA out for this money making scheme that makes the organization look both arrogant and immoral in the wake of the high profile Ed O’Bannon lawsuit. This was so wrong. We can’t wait for the trial, which is scheduled to start next year on the Coast. It’s by past time for the NCA to start reimbursing its student-athletes for use of their images and liknesses
Bilas typed the names of Texas A & M qb Johnny Manziel, Clemson qb Tajh Boyd and South Carolina defensive end Jedeveon Clowney and other high profile players into the NCAA site search function and received back matching jerseys. The NCAA disabled the search function after Bilas exposed the results.
“In the national office, we can certainly recognize why that could be seen as hypocritical, and indeed I think the business of having the NCAA selling those kinds of goods is a mistake,” NCAA Vexecutive P Mark Lewis said. “Moving forward, the NCAA online shop will no longer offer college and university merchandise. In the coming days, the store’s website will be shut down temporarily and reopen in a few weeks as a marketplace for NCAA championship merchandise only.”
In related news involving the NCAA, Johnny Manziel’s family has hired an El Paso, Texas, attorney with experience in NCAA matters as the Heisman Trophy winner reportedly faces an investigation into whether he was paid to sign autographs.
ESPN reported that Manziel is being examined for allegedly signing autographs for money before last January’s BCS title game between Alabama and Notre Dame. Such a deal would compromise Manziel’s status as an amateur.
Jim Darnell will represent the Texas A&M quarterback, and he predicted that Manziel will not miss any playing time.
“I can’t say much other than we’re working through the process,” Darnell told USA Today. “He’s cooperating with the investigation. We think when all this comes out on the other end, he’ll be the starting quarterback for the Aggies against Rice” in the season opener Aug. 31.
