Since June, a large problem has loomed over the head of Donald De La Haye. Would the NCAA rulebook leave the UCF kicker ineligible based on profits he receives from his popular YouTube channel? He received an answer Monday after De La Haye apparently declined the conditions of a UCF Athletics-submitted waiver to the NCAA.
The waiver stated that he could profit from the videos, but only if the content was unrelated to athletics. All videos referencing his status as a student-athlete would need to be posted from a non-monetized account. The NCAA released the following statement on the matter:
NCAA statement regarding Donald De La Haye. pic.twitter.com/0W2YCbEBrF
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) July 31, 2017
UCF Athletics released a statement of their own on the matter:
Statement from @UCF_Football on K Donald De La Haye. @NCAA not allowing monetized YouTube vids that depict his status as student-athlete pic.twitter.com/ghShJximOI
— Joe Kepner (@JKepnerWFTV) July 31, 2017
“I’m definitely torn apart inside, man,” described De La Haye in a July 31 video posted to his YouTube account. “I really never thought it would come down to this. They proposed me some rules and some conditions that they wanted me to follow and I refused to — I just didn’t feel like they were fair.”
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Ultimately, De La Haye’s decision cost him his eligibility and full scholarship. In the hours following the news he created a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising money to pay for his tuition.
“The NCAA has possibly ruined my future, all over a few bucks,” wrote De La Haye in the page’s description. “I want to continue pursuing my passion of creating videos, I also want to continue pursuing my marketing degree but no longer have the funds necessary to achieve that. I dont like asking for stuff, but this is important.. even $1 would help!
A couple of professional athletes have offered their support to De La Haye via Twitter, the most notable being Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King.
Aye @NCAA Let @Deestroying invoice the @UCFKnights for promoting the University as a WHOLE not the sports program. #NoJurisdiction
— Marquette King (@MarquetteKing) July 31, 2017