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UCF kicker blasts NCAA rules threatening his YouTube channel
UCF kicker Donald De La Haye criticized NCAA policies that prevent him from making money off his YouTube channel in an interview with SI Now.
“Maybe it's time for someone to actually try to fight back,” he told SI Now.
De La Haye announced on YouTube, in a video titled “Quit College Sports or Quit YouTube,” that the school informed him he would be in violation of NCAA bylaws if he made any money off of his videos. Wielding more than 56,000 subscribers and 2.7 million views of his channel, De La Haye is eligible to monetize his videos under the YouTube partnership program. The NCAA strictly forbids any student-athlete from receiving compensation based on their image or likeness.
“I feel like it's about time for things to be changed,” De La Haye told SI Now. “…The times these rules were made weren't really up to par with what's going on in the real world today.
The rising sophomore was in “extreme shock” when the school approached him about the issues surrounding his YouTube channel. De La Haye would like to push back on the NCAA's regulation but doesn't necessarily have the means to do it.
“So far it feels like a David and Goliath type of fight,” he said. “I really don't have any help right now. I'm just a 20-year-old.”
It's unclear at this point whether De La Haye will stop making YouTube videos.
