High School Football Players Potentially Banned for Appearing in a TV Commercial Provide Valuable Lessons for Parents and Students
| | Title IX, Title IX : Athletics
Students are trained to trust their teachers, coaches, and school administrators. Parents are expected to follow suit. So when someone suggested that the football team at Indian River High School should participate in a TV commercial for a local roofing company in their Delaware community, any objections that were raised were not loud enough to stop the filming. After all, members of a small community like to support each other.
The local TV commercial showed the football team suited up in uniform and being addressed by their coach on their home field. The commercial was not raunchy or in bad taste, and it had nothing to do with sports. So neither the players nor their families realized that participating in the commercial could cause everyone who appeared on camera to be banned from future participation in all high school sports.
What Went Wrong
The appearance in a TV commercial violated the rules of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association which governs high school sports in the state. Specifically, the rule prohibits the endorsement of commercial products in the media with the use of student athletes. Even though, in this situation, nobody at the school received any compensation for appearing in the ad, the fact that they appeared at all went against Delaware laws. The laws strip students of amateur status if they use their sports participation to endorse any products online, on TV, in the newspaper, in any other form of media, or even in person. State law also requires students to have amateur status to participate in high school sports.
The violations carried the potential for serious consequences. In addition to assessing penalties against the school as an institution, the DIAA had the ability to make all players who appeared in the commercial ineligible to participate in high school sports for the remainder of their high school careers in the state.
It’s a pretty harsh penalty for a group of kids who were just trying to be helpful and do what they were told by the coach and administrators they trusted.
Consequences
Being banned from high school sports can have surprisingly long-range consequences, even for students who are not planning to continue in college or professional sports. Studies have shown numerous benefits of participating in school sports programs. Students on teams enjoy not only physical health benefits but also mental health benefits and improved organizational skills. Academic performance improves. Students enjoy connection and camaraderie during a difficult developmental period in their lives. All these benefits could have been lost because of the rule violation.
Fortunately, in this case, the DIAA decided to issue an official reprimand to the administration of the high school for lack of oversight and not to penalize any of the individual players. However, the governing body reiterated that they take violations seriously, and the in-depth investigation conducted after the commercial was broadcast demonstrates the commitment to uphold the rules regarding details of amateur status. The case could have easily gone the other way, and students who weren’t even compensated could have been the victims. The administrators in charge should never have put the students in such a vulnerable position.
Lessons for Students and Parents
The school was required to prepare and issue an updated media policy to prevent incidents from reoccurring. However, the lessons for students, parents, and administrators should be much broader. Administrators should be reminded of their responsibility to investigate proposed actions to determine their legality and potential consequences before making recommendations.
Students and parents need to be wary of accepting recommendations without conducting their own independent research. However, when they rely on the experience and guidance of those in authority at the school, and that reliance causes them to suffer harm, the school could potentially be held liable.
Teachers, coaches, and administrators are not infallible. Sometimes, they are lazy and don’t investigate before making a recommendation. Even worse, sometimes they are self-centered and make recommendations that could potentially benefit themselves at the possible risk to the students they are supposed to protect.
When a teacher, coach, or administrator is acting on behalf of an academic institution, the institution as their employer bears responsibility for their actions. Mistakes can be charged against the school to provide restitution to students for the harm they suffer, such as loss of future opportunities. Schools are supposed to guide and protect students, not exploit or endanger them.
Nesenoff & Miltenberg Holds Schools Accountable When They Fail in Their Responsibilities to Students
Schools at all levels, including colleges and universities, encourage students to look to them for leadership and to follow the guidance provided by their employees. But faculty and staff can be negligent or even deliberately harmful in a wide variety of ways. They might fail to investigate a Title IX complaint adequately, for instance, or become overzealous in adjudication and trample the due process rights of the respondent.
When an educational institution fails a student, parents should not simply accept the situation. By taking legal action to investigate the situation and pursue remedies through administrative channels or in court, students and parents can protect future opportunities, as well as the physical and mental well-being of the student. Moreover, taking action to address the wrongs draws attention to institutional problems so that they can be corrected, providing a better environment for everyone in the future.
At Nesenoff & Miltenberg, we hold schools accountable when they fail our students and protect them when schools accuse them of wrongdoing. We are firmly committed to safeguarding the interests of students in all situations.
If you have an educational matter you’d like to discuss in confidentiality with our legal team, we invite you to call us at 212-736-4500 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.