The NCAA gave the green light for student-athletes to lend their name, image and likeness for crowdfunding efforts related to helping those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
The announcement came Tuesday after Clemson University’s compliance department asked its star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and girlfriend Marissa Mowry, who plays soccer at Anderson University, to suspend their fundraising efforts.
“The NCAA did not ask Clemson student-athlete Trevor Lawrence to take down his fundraiser for COVID-19 patients and their families,” the NCAA said in a statement. “We continue to work with member schools so they have the flexibility to ensure that student-athletes and communities impacted by this illness are supported, and we applaud Trevor for his efforts.”
Lawrence was pleased with the association’s response.
“Shoutout to the NCAA. Thank y’all so much for granting a waiver. They’re allowing us to continue to raise money for what we were doing originally. So we’re gonna take some time and kind of think about how we’re going to restart it back up,” Lawrence said on Instagram Tuesday night, according to the The State. “We’re going to take the night and maybe some of tomorrow or whatever to figure out exactly how we want to do it to be as efficient and to help as many people as possible.”
Lawrence and Mowry had started a GoFundMe page for coronavirus victims on Monday. The page was shut down after Clemson took action. The page had raised $2,670 on Monday before it was taken down. The money that was raised will go toward Meal on Wheels and No Kid Hungry.
In a video posted to Mowry’s Instagram page, Lawrence clarified that the NCAA hadn’t rained on anyone’s parade.
“We just wanted to say that it wasn’t necessarily the NCAA doing anything bad,” Lawrence said. “They weren’t trying to stop us from helping raise money for this cause. It was more of just their rules that are in place that our compliance department was following just to make sure that we were in the clear as Clemson, as an organization, that we were doing things the right way.”
