Quick Hitters
Ex-UCF kicker stands by decision to give up eligibility
ORLANDO, Fla. — Former UCF kicker Donald De La Haye says all he wanted to do was follow his passion and make a little money with videos he posted on YouTube.
But since some of those videos included his experiences as a student-athlete, it wasn’t that simple. UCF and the NCAA offered De La Haye an alternative that he felt was “very unfair.”
“They wanted me to give up my money that I made, which is crazy,” De La Haye said in a video he posted Monday night. “I worked hard for it and you just want me to throw my money away and take down my videos, which again, I worked so hard for and wasn’t comfortable doing. “So I told them no.” De La Haye, who could not reached for comment on Tuesday, said he was ruled ineligible, had his scholarship taken away and now is out of school. In-state tuition at UCF is about $22,000, including room and board, books and fees. The marketing major would have been a junior on the football team this season.
UCF said in a released statement it sought and received a waiver from the NCAA that allowed De La Haye to continue making the videos that chronicle his life on and away from the football field. The waiver would have allowed De La Haye to continue making money off the advertising from his videos — as long as they did not depict him as a student-athlete. Videos depicting him as a studentathlete would have to put on a non-monetized account.
The waiver also required De La Haye to pay back the money he has earned from the videos, though that amount is still unclear. When UCF began looking into the profits De La Haye was making for the videos in June he had over 55,000 subscribers. As of Tuesday afternoon, he had 95,111 subscribers and his video from Monday had 134,552 views.
The videos capture the outgoing personality of the Costa Rican native.
“In the end I don’t feel like there was any compromise really happening,” De La Haye said in the 5 minute, 39 second video.
As a sophomore, De La Haye — who played high school football in Port St. Lucie, Florida — appeared in all 13 of the Knights games as a kickoff specialist.
NCAA rules prohibit studentathletes from profiting from their likeness or status as student-athletes because it violates amateur guidelines.
Chargers’ Gates will skip practice, see LT into HOF
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Antonio Gates will skip the Los Angeles Chargers’ first practice at their new stadium to attend LaDainian Tomlinson’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.
Philip Rivers will stay in California for Saturday’s practice, coach Anthony Lynn said Tuesday.
Gates, Rivers and Tomlinson were teammates in San Diego for six seasons, and they formed one of the NFL’s most dynamic offensive trios from 2006-09. Both Gates and Rivers wanted to attend Tomlinson’s induction, but the Chargers decided to send the 37-year-old Gates as their representative.
The Chargers will work out with the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at StubHub Center, their home in suburban Carson for the next three seasons.
“We’re going to StubHub for the first time, and it’s a dress rehearsal for our organization,” Lynn said. “We’ve got a lot of things to work through that day, and Philip wants to be there. He was torn, because he wants to be with L.T. as well. But we’re all good, and L.T. is happy.”