Controversy arose when Adidas rolled out new T-shirts following the brutal leg injury of Louisville Cardinals’ Kevin Ware. It was great to show support of him but the problem is, it’s against NCAA rules for student athletes to get any of the profits; so basically Adidas was pocketing all the cash. The shirts added fuel to the already growing debate of whether or not college athletes should be paid. Things got a bit too intense for Adidas and they pulled the shirts. Read more after the jump.
The shirts were being sold on the Louisville athletic website for $24.99. The shirts said “Rise to the occasion” on the front, and had the number five on the back. Ware’s No. 5 was not only on the back, but it was also in the place of the “S” in rise.
*SHIRT IN GALLERY ABOVE*
Adidas received plenty of backlash for attempting to profit off a player’s injury while that athlete is unable to receive any of the proceeds due to NCAA rules.
Dan Wetzel at Yahoo! Sports puts that into context of the corrupt NCAA. He also points out that Adidas likely pulled the shirt not because of the moral dilemma, but because it is illegal; schools are not allowed to profit directly off a player, according to NCAA rules.
How do they get away with selling jerseys and shirts with a player’s number? Schools argue that numerous players have worn the number throughout the years.
