NCAA NIL & Supplement Sponsorships

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR BODY. With NCAA NIL in full speed, many athletes are seeking sponsorship opportunities with supplement companies and vice versa. I advise the collegiate athletes I represent to do their due diligence with my assistance to find out exactly what substances and ingredients are contained in a product and we go over which substances are banned by the NCAA. Especially with energy drinks.

I err on the side of caution and advise that my athletes clear any supplement with the NCAA before using. 

The NCAA explains on their website, “Many nutritional/dietary supplements contain NCAA banned substances. Impure supplements may lead to a positive NCAA drug test. The use of supplements is at the student-athlete’s own risk.”

I use the example of the NFL which publishes a list of banned substances and go even further to issue a list of banned companies/brands/retailers and manufacturers their players are prohibited from using or signing sponsorship or endorsement deals with. The reason is that these companies/brands/retailers sell some products that contain a banned substance. 

You will be shocked to see some of the NFL banned companies in the link below. Some of your popular companies such as Vitamin Shoppe, Gaspari Nutrition, Nature’s Bounty, Vitamin World, Bodybuilding.com, and GNC to name a few. Full link below https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/2020-NFL_NFLPA-Banned-Companies-Final.pdf

What Happened to Gabby?

Gabby Petito and boyfriend Brian Laundrie: Why hasn’t he been arrested is the big question I’ve been hearing. While he is a person of interest, presumably having been the last person to see her, he is not yet a named suspect. He has the 5th amendment constitutional right to remain silent, suspect or not. 

Many people presume that because a person remains silent, they have something to hide. This may be the case but it may be because he has a very good defense attorney who has advised Laundrie to remain silent for now until his client’s story is hammered out and a defense strategy can be developed. The mere fact that Petito has disappeared does not arise to a crime; she is deemed missing person status at this point, without any evidence whatsoever of a crime being committed. 

Human decency aspect says hey he needs to speak up and help law enforcement find at least her last known location. However, this is law and constitution and human decency sometimes has no place unfortunately. “Whatever you say can and will be used against you in a court of law” is not just from the TV show Law & Order. Criminal defense attorneys err on the side of caution in advising their clients to remain silent until they are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt their client is innocent.  

Several different scenarios likely occurred 1) Petito wanted to go missing and Laundrie is honoring her wish 2) A terrible accident occurred, such as a fall, heat stroke, drugs 3) A terrible crime occurred and Laundrie is buying his time and remaining silent at the advice of his attorney Bertolino. There is a prior incident of a domestic dispute just a few weeks ago. 

My guess is something sinister occurred. Why wait ten days before reporting her missing? If Laundrie truly had no involvement in her disappearance and an alibi can be established, his lawyer likely would have allowed him to make a statement by now. I predict an arrest will be made soon as search and rescue teams descend and clues and evidence may come to the surface. #trending #lawyer #criminallaw #law  

The Replacements 2?

You’ve Been Punked! ESPN that is. IMG and Bishop Sycamore. Epic marketing failure or marketing genius depending how you look at the situation. Perhaps a movie deal in the works? Because let’s be real. Everyone is talking about Bishop Sycamore. Fake school or not. Rumor is some of the kids on the team are 20 years old. And fresh out of jail. According to sources the team could not fly from Ohio to Florida because of outstanding arrest warrants on several staff and players including an active arrest warrant on Coach Roy Johnson for domestic violence. Although not confirmed, word is Johnson was also investigated by the U.S. Secret Service for financial fraud related to his role in the creation of COF Academy, the “school” that was shut down previously and replaced by Sycamore. The movie The Replacements comes to mind. 

Paragon Marketing has its tail between its legs. It arranged the game to be aired on ESPN. They should be ashamed and have admitted they fell short here. No one did their due diligence to confirm the veracity of Bishop Sycamore’s representation to ESPN of their players’ skills and stats in the matchup against IMG. I guess the Ohio Department of Education never got wind that Sycamore was playing IMG on ESPN? If they had, I assume they would have stepped in to further investigate. 

Most importantly, Bishop Sycamore’s  Coach Johnson admitted his players had played in two games just prior to the IMG game, which in my opinion put his players at high risk of injury and his actions can be deemed complete reckless disregard to his athletes’ well-being. ESPN admitted they would not have aired the game had they known that Sycamore had just played on the Friday before the Sunday game. 

If Paragon Marketing or ESPN had performed their due diligence they would have found that head coach Sycamore Johnson was investigated for fraud relating to the creation of this alleged charter school, was involved in a domestic violence court case, and had defaulted on several loans. Basically he has a very shady past. Johnson promised ESPN his team had D1 prospects. The Sycamore Athletic Director defended their position telling ESPN to show up on signing day and they would see D1 signees. Show up where? The address listed on Max Preps takes you to a housing duplex and library. Forget about a website. It’s down. And who the heck is/was Bishop Sycamore? Apparently he is a fictional bishop. 

Can’t wait for the sequel. The Replacements 2 perhaps?