Gestapo-like NCAA at it Again: “Student-Athletes” Not Allowed to Sell Merchandise on Their Blog
College Basketball January 2nd. 2009, 9:15am
Mark Titus is a benchwarmer on the Ohio State basketball team. He’s played 28 minutes in two-plus seasons with the Buckeyes, and is 2-for-3 from the field in 24 appearances. He’s actually a more prolific blogger - the guy keeps track of how many bone-crunching screens he sets - than he is a baller, his site, Club Trillion, has attracted a nice following.
Recently, Titus attempted to sell merchandise on his blog, and of course, the NCAA, er, Gestapo (thank you, Dale Brown) took notice, and essentially sent him cease and desist (or, more specifically, “we should stop counting the number of Club Trillion shirts we saw in the stands as a preventative measure should the NCAA ever look into it”)
I was informed through our compliance office that I can no longer do the Club Trillion merchandise counter, because I am essentially promoting a business that is (potentially) making profit from my name. Even though I see none of the profits (if there are any), it still violates NCAA bylaw 34.4.3 which states “No walk-on is permitted to ever have a legitimate fan base. Fan bases are to be reserved for those players who are either superstars or have a last name that rhymes with a word that represents a group of people, such as Hoke’s Folks or Bass’ Masses [citation needed].” Naturally, I am a little bit upset about this decision. However, I have made a living (not really, I just kind of like that phrase) off of finding loopholes, so I’m sure I’ll find a way to make something work out.
You think Roger Goodell of the NFL is a clown? The NCAA is the most contemptible sports organization in the solar system. It sure would be nice if a player and his wealthy family challenged the NCAA. The Tark case from 20 years ago is somewhat memorable, but for student-athletes, we’d love to see a landmark victory against the NCAA so all of its draconian measures were seriously curtailed.
Hey, it’s early in 2009 - a blogger can’t dream?
32 Responses to “Gestapo-like NCAA at it Again: “Student-Athletes” Not Allowed to Sell Merchandise on Their Blog”
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January 2nd, 2009 at 9:22 am
Fuck Michigan.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
what he said.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:25 am
it’s probably not too early for this. you can’t spell c_ck__cker without OsU. this is really meant for ou but it works this week for osu.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 am
oh yea, well you can’t spell “sex act with a 10 year old boy” without TEXAS.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 am
Like Jeremy Bloom?
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 am
if NCAA bylaw 34.4.3 states:
how can anybody sue to challenge that? seems pretty concrete to me.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
you can’t spell “spackle cancer” without SPENCER.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:44 am
sounds like this guy would have more fun if he blogged, sold his merchandise, then tore up the intramurals. He could be Dirty…just dirty in IM leagues.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:45 am
say what you will about OSU, but OSU athlete bloggers 1, Michigan athlete bloggers 0
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:48 am
not bad spencer.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:50 am
Is this funny to anyone other than Clown? He keeps having this problem with his posts. They’re neither insightful nor funny. TBL, you need a new Clown.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
I chuckled/snickered.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
i got a kick out of it.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:56 am
I lost an uncle to spackle cancer. So, no, I didn’t find it funny.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
I am can’t stop laughing.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
i laughed and then felt bad after i read nick’s.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
I stand corrected. Keep up the good work.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
crap
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
i’m going to bed at my desk. i can’t type in English today.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:01 am
NCAA Bylaw 109, Chapter 3(e): ONLY the NCAA and their designated partners may make money off of college sports.
This was brought to you by the new GMC Yukon. Performance AND Value. Please for the love of God, visit your GMC dealer for great rates — we mean it!
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
I laughed at NickP too.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 am
Doesn’t everyone laugh at NickP?
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 am
lost all respect for clown when he linked that ridiculous texas blog defense against the nyt jamarkus mcfarland recruiting piece
/not sure if said link was posted in jest
//anticipate regaining respect with next tbl workout joke
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:08 am
Story about Titus… He actually can really play. He was on Oden and Conley’s AAU team that owned everyone. He would be a very, very good D2 player and could likely play at lower mid-majors. He’s a smart dude and will likely make as much money as some fringe NBA guys by the time he is 35…
That blog is hilarious. Some funny, funny stuff.
/It’s 10:08 and Michigan still sucks.
//Will NEVER get old.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:09 am
/twss
//runs away crying
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
at least she acknowledged you, NickP.
/runs away crying(?)
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
his blog is hilarious. the bitch is he wasn’t selling merchandise. he was counting the number of times he saw someone wearing shirts that another person had made. he got no money out of it, just the enjoyment of knowing others liked his writing.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 am
I agree the NCAA’s regulations as a whole are overly restrictive. But from a consistency standpoint, if they didn’t go after a well-off white benchwarmer making a little money off his athletic status (or lack thereof), it would look pretty bad when they go after the poor black kid making a lot of money off his athletic status.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
he wasn’t making any money by counting merchandise that someone else sold broseph
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:33 am
who cares about this idiot from Ohio State?
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
@Reaaazy
True–I didn’t pick up that part. Still, the NCAA doesn’t know if he’s getting a cut from the guys who are actually selling the merch. Not saying I agree with it. But the NCAA’s big on avoiding the perception of impropriety (remember this dumb one with Leinart), so it makes sense for them to go there.
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
It probably didn’t help that he was on the Dan Patrick show last week - that probably blew his blog hits off the charts - and got the NCAA nervous. The guy was a good interview on the DP show - pretty funny.