Jabari Parker + Skullcandy?

[FerryFor50]

http://www.skullcandy.com/blog/2012/12/20/skullcandy-shows-support-simeon-career-academy-jabari-parker

Really not liking this...

Not sure if this counts as a no-no in the NCAA eyes... But doesn't look very good.

[dcar1985]

http://www.skullcandy.com/blog/2012/12/20/skullcandy-shows-support-simeon-career-academy-jabari-parker

Really not liking this...

Not sure if this counts as a no-no in the NCAA eyes... But doesn't look very good.

Seeing as this is approximately a year old I'm sure if there was some issue with this it would've been brought up or addressed already. I wouldn't be worried.

[luburch]

They're sponsoring the school, not Jabari, from what I understand.

[FerryFor50]

They're sponsoring the school, not Jabari, from what I understand.

Ok, that makes me feel better... But they still used his name.

I get nervous when I see a college athlete associated with a product in any way.

[SupaDave]

Ok, that makes me feel better... But they still used his name.

I get nervous when I see a college athlete associated with a product in any way.

Yeah - only the NCAA would do something crazy like that...

[UrinalCake]

It's really surprising that this would be allowed, and I would suspect that when the NCAA is made aware of it they will ask Skull Candy to take it down. They use Jabari's image and compile a bunch of information about him. I don't see him directly endorsing the products as far as saying "you should use these." They're sponsoring the school, but he is clearly the focal point of the ad.

[JasonEvans]

There is a photo of Jabari wearing the headphones. I am sure some Carolina fans would argue that is not appreciably different from what Leslie McDonald did for the mouthguard company.

To be honest, I am at a loss to explain the difference myself other than the fact that when a photographer posted a pic of Leslie McDonald wearing the mouthguard, Leslie tweeted back with the name of the company that made it.

That said, Skullcandy is a big company with a legal department and Simeon is school well-versed in high school and college eligibility issues. I would bet that both of them have been aware of this for a while and know that it is not problematic.

-Jason "it is clear that Jabari is doing nothing active to promote the headphones -- is a pic of him merely wearing them promotion on his part?" Evans

[FerryFor50]

Yeah - only the NCAA would do something crazy like that...

Which is why the NCAA might get pissed about this... ;)

[FerryFor50]

There is a photo of Jabari wearing the headphones. I am sure some Carolina fans would argue that is not appreciably different from what Leslie McDonald did for the mouthguard company.

To be honest, I am at a loss to explain the difference myself other than the fact that when a photographer posted a pic of Leslie McDonald wearing the mouthguard, Leslie tweeted back with the name of the company that made it.

That said, Skullcandy is a big company with a legal department and Simeon is school well-versed in high school and college eligibility issues. I would bet that both of them have been aware of this for a while and know that it is not problematic.

-Jason "it is clear that Jabari is doing nothing active to promote the headphones -- is a pic of him merely wearing them promotion on his part?" Evans

This is exactly what I thought of - how is this much different than what McDonald did?

[SupaDave]

It's really surprising that this would be allowed, and I would suspect that when the NCAA is made aware of it they will ask Skull Candy to take it down. They use Jabari's image and compile a bunch of information about him. I don't see him directly endorsing the products as far as saying "you should use these." They're sponsoring the school, but he is clearly the focal point of the ad.

Teams can have sponsors and in many cases most do it BECAUSE of certain athletes. Nike sponsors tons of high schools across the country. Shabazz was sponsored by Adidas his whole life.

Not just that but the school benefitted in a MAJOR way b/c of this - free headphones for class and the profits from all the headphones they sale. Talk about a good team banquet.

And while the article certainly zooms in on Parker - it's not an advertisement. Players get stuff - most of it is legal. Parker was in probably 30 magazines last year - ALL of them had to contact him through his school or his parents.

Oh and the NCAA only can regulate recruiting and impermissible benefits to amateur athletes - not schools. That's the local school board's jurisdiction.

[SupaDave]

This is exactly what I thought of - how is this much different than what McDonald did?

McDonald was a college student at the time. Big difference there. The NCAA can regulate what they perceive to be a student athlete using his likeness for profit.

[mkirsh]

This is exactly what I thought of - how is this much different than what McDonald did?

I would guess the main issue would be compensation - did Jabari receive anything in return for SkullCandy using his image (free product, cash, promise of future contract)? Did LM receive anything (free mouth guards, services, cash)? I would assume if no then everything should be ok, if yes then likely trouble.

[SupaDave]

I would guess the main issue would be compensation - did Jabari receive anything in return for SkullCandy using his image (free product, cash, promise of future contract)? Did LM receive anything (free mouth guards, services, cash)? I would assume if no then everything should be ok, if yes then likely trouble.

What Skull Candy did is no different than what Phil Knight does for Oregon EVERYDAY.

[oldnavy]

I think we can safely say that it is only an issue IF the NCAA WANTS it to be an issue....

I am not smart enough to discern what is allowed and what is not and I am not sure the NCAA is smart enough either.

If there is nothing more to the LM issue than the company using his image without compensating him for it, then I have no idea why he is in NCAA purgatory. Didn't UNC tell them to stop as soon as they found out???

Makes you think that something else is going on, but who knows??

[UrinalCake]

This is exactly what I thought of - how is this much different than what McDonald did?

I think there is an assumption being made (verified only through twitter) that McDonald received mouth guards (valued at between $150-1500 depending on if they are custom made) while other students did not, thus he was given an advantage for being an athlete. In Jabari's case, the whole school received the headphones.

The part about McDonald's name being used on the iceberg mouth guard web page - that seems pretty similar.

[Ichabod Drain]

The situation was covered in depth here back in march.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/garcia/18560285-452/skullcandy-gets-the-better-end-of-simeon-sponsorship-deal.html

Seems it's mainly just exploitation on Skullcandy's part but shouldn't be any trouble for Jabari.

[Bluedog]

I think there is an assumption being made (verified only through twitter) that McDonald received mouth guards (valued at between $150-1500 depending on if they are custom made) while other students did not, thus he was given an advantage for being an athlete. In Jabari's case, the whole school received the headphones.

The part about McDonald's name being used on the iceberg mouth guard web page - that seems pretty similar.

A company using an athlete's likeness for promoting its products happens, but the key is if the athlete himself is aware and then promotes the product. I'm sure Jabari has no idea, and was just wearing headphones. Didn't McDonald tweet something like "Check these out!"? That seems like a clear difference to me, but maybe McDonald didn't say anything at all and was unaware of them using him on their website - then, it would be a similar situation (except if he received items for free in exchange for being able to use him on their website).

[UrinalCake]

The situation was covered in depth here back in march.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/garcia/18560285-452/skullcandy-gets-the-better-end-of-simeon-sponsorship-deal.html

Seems it's mainly just exploitation on Skullcandy's part but shouldn't be any trouble for Jabari.

I can't believe the school would agree to this. It appears to be in direct violation of the NCAA's rules on amateurism, especially the part about asking the players to verbally endorse their products. Simeon is accustomed to dealing with future college and pro athletes, so they MUST have cleared this with the NCAA prior to signing this agreement with skull candy. Right? (Please say yes).

[Scorp4me]

haha I saw this posted in the comments section of one of the articles linked from here that I ready today. I think it was one of the football articles. The poster did the right thing and "took a screen shot and forwarded it to the NCAA to see if anything comes of it". What a joke!

Sure it's nothing. Yes the NCAA goes after ridiculous stuff. But still think that post was the best part lol.

[Troublemaker]

Here's a copy of the NCAA bylaws: http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D114OCT.pdf (Note: this is a large 434-page PDF so only click if you're really interested in digging into this)

Section 12.5.2 (pg. 85 of the PDF) deals with non-permissable promotional activites. I can't see how Jabari is in violation.

I think the key is he did not receive remuneration from Skull Candy AND this promotional activity (if it indeed counts as a promotional activity) occurred in high school, before enrollment at Duke.

[Duvall]

Here's a copy of the NCAA bylaws: http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D114OCT.pdf (Note: this is a large 434-page PDF so only click if you're really interested in digging into this)

Section 12.5.2 (pg. 85 of the PDF) deals with non-permissable promotional activites. I can't see how Jabari is in violation.

I think the key is he did not receive remuneration from Skull Candy AND this promotional activity (if it indeed counts as a promotional activity) occurred in high school, before enrollment at Duke.

Looks like you nailed it. (http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_5f24cc30-5eb9-11e3-bfe8-001a4bcf6878.html)


“Generally speaking, a high school student may promote a product, provided that he is not paid for that promotion, and has not enrolled in college,” Meghan Durham, an assistant director of media relations for the NCAA, wrote in an email Friday. “These ads should be pulled once the student enrolls in college.”

The blog post is still up nearly a year after it was originally posted, and it made the rounds on social media Friday.

It raises a question because NCAA rule 12.5.2.1 forbids athletes from using “his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.”

Duke is aware of the video clip, said Matt Plizga, the school’s associate sports information director.

“All athletes have to be cleared by the NCAA, and they were aware of this at the time it was done,” Plizga said. “If we’re told it’s a potential problem, we could certainly ask (Skullcandy) to take it down. But it hasn’t come to that.”

[JonnyWonder]

Seems like their whole business model is making mediocre headphones and then associating themselves with anyone famous, from Kyrie (http://www.skullcandy.com/revolution/kyrie-irving) to Kate Upton (http://www.skullcandy.com/models/kate-upton). The HS basketball team "sponsorships" must be a get-'em-young strategy. They have Derrick Rose in their stable, so it must've paid off (assuming they were sponsoring Simeon when he was there as well). We'll see what Jabari does in the future, but I hope he'd choose to endorse better headphones...

Personally, I'd like to see a Mason Plumlee-Grado Labs endorsement myself...high quality cans made in Brooklyn!

[blUDAYvil]

Seems like their whole business model is making mediocre headphones and then associating themselves with anyone famous, from Kyrie (http://www.skullcandy.com/revolution/kyrie-irving) to Kate Upton (http://www.skullcandy.com/models/kate-upton). The HS basketball team "sponsorships" must be a get-'em-young strategy. They have Derrick Rose in their stable, so it must've paid off (assuming they were sponsoring Simeon when he was there as well). We'll see what Jabari does in the future, but I hope he'd choose to endorse better headphones...

Personally, I'd like to see a Mason Plumlee-Grado Labs endorsement myself...high quality cans made in Brooklyn!

Seems like the whole industry is moving in the direction of nice looking headphones since consumers have largely accepted the poorer audio quality of mp3s, if The Economist (http://www.economist.com/news/business/21584046-dr-dres-creation-market-costly-cans-may-herald-return-true-hi-fi-sound) is to be believed. Grado on the other hand hasn't advertised since 1964!

[UrinalCake]

Well I'm relieved to read that it looks like this is all permissible, but I have to say from a distance that I'm not a huge fan of this trend of high school sponsorship. It seems rife with possibility for improper payments or benefits to be passed on to players, and the overall message is terrible - we're going to make money by giving you free stuff and then if one of you makes it big then people will see that we're associated with you. Relatively low cost investment for the companies (a few hundred headphones) with high potential payout.

[bob blue devil]

This is exactly what I thought of - how is this much different than what McDonald did?

maybe my memory is failing me, but i think there was a rumor that mcdonald had a questionable car or two in addition the mouth guards. maybe he's got ncaa problems b/c of the mouth guards, but maybe its something else - i don't think its safe to assume at this point.