The University of Louisville is already treading on thin ice with the NCAA so anything they can do to avoid future issues is a good idea.
With the increased interest in players like Heisman hopeful Lamar Jackson, the university has banned athletes from autographing anything for fear that it could become an NCAA eligibility conflict.
Louisville says they’re doing this not in response to any outstanding concern but because they’ve noticed a rise in requests for autographs and want to preemptively strike down any issues.
“We decided to take this measure as more of a proactive approach to protect the eligibility of our student-athletes,” a Louisville spokesperson told ESPN. “Furthermore, certain steps needed to be taken to insure that third parties were not benefitting commercially on the signatures of the student-athletes.”
The football program no longer will be accepting autograph requests due to growing concerns over eligibility of its student-athletes.
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) October 4, 2016
The rule helps to prevent any Louisville players from violating NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1, which says student-athletes cannot permit their names or likenesses to be used for commercial purposes, including to advertise, recommend or promote sales of commercial products, or accept payment for the use of their names or likenesses.
It’s the rule that got Georgia running back Todd Gurley and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel suspended during their breakout seasons. Gurley was accused to accepting money for signed memorability while Manziel supposedly committed an “inadvertent violation” regarding autograph signings.
By preventing players from signing autographs under any circumstances, Louisville makes the smart decision to not only protect themselves from the NCAA but protect players like Jackson from unsavory characters who would gladly put them in harm’s way to make a buck.
[ESPN]
