Donald De La Haye, a kicker on the University of Central Florida’s football team, has decided to maintain his popular YouTube channel — a move that could prompt NCAA sanctions.
De La Haye’s channel has a large enough following to generate revenue via advertising, which could run afoul of NCAA policies regarding amateurism. Bylaws state that an athlete “may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete’s name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business.”
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The videos De La Haye posts often feature glimpses into his daily life, and reference his status as a football player.
De La Haye posted a video Sunday titled “Choosing Between College Football or YouTube,” in which he outlines his decision to maintain the channel.
According to ESPN.com, UCF compliance staff met with De La Haye but never gave him an ultimatum about whether to ultimately choose to creating YouTube content or continuing his football career.
De La Haye’s decision to keep the channel puts the ball in the NCAA’s court. The body will ultimately decide whether any revenue he generates violates policy that would jeopardize his eligibility.
“I’m going to upload regularly to this channel. I’m not stopping that. I’m not demonetizing. I refuse to. So it’s out of my hands now,” De La Haye said in his recent video. “The decision is in the NCAA’s hands, whether they want to suspend me or whether they want to let me do me.”
