As a final resolution (hopefully), sportsshooters.com, the Web site that has stirred much debate over the last several months for its use of pictures of currently enrolled student-athletes, is NOT in violation of amateurism rules and regulations.
In a recent change that has aligned the site with the appropriate legislation, there is now a restriction on photographers from offering up their freelance services on the site. Thus, any hint of utilizing the SA's picture for "promotional" purposes has been removed.
Please see the link below along with the attached letter from Wendy Walters at the NCAA outlining the issues in a bit more detail. If you have any additional questions, please contact me.
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2006/03/ncaa.html
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
March 10, 2006
Mr. Brad Mangin
3879 Vine Street
Pleasanton, California 94566
Dear Brad:
This letter is a summary and confirmation of our discussions regarding SportsShooter.com. It is my understanding that this group is an online community and resource for sports photographers and other working photojournalists. This was a Web page on which photographers and photojournalists displayed their work and indicated their availability for freelance work.
Generally under NCAA legislation, it is not permissible for a student-athletes name or likeness to be used to promote a commercial product or service. When a student-athletes photograph is used in the promotion of a commercial product or service without the student-athletes permission, the student-athlete and/or the institution must take steps to stop such an activity in order to retain his or her eligibility for intercollegiate athletics. This often takes the form of the student-athlete or institution sending a cease and desist letter to the entity that is using the student-athletes photograph.
Previously on the SportsShooter.com Web site, some of the members had photographs of enrolled collegiate student-athletes and also indicated that they were available for freelance photography work. This, in essence, tied the promotion of a commercial service (e.g., the photographers freelance business) to the image/likeness of the student-athletes. Thus, some of your members received cease and desist letters from NCAA member institutions.
In your February 23 e-mail, you indicated that SportsShooter.com has removed references to whether a member is available for freelance work. Based on this information, it appears that SportsShooter.com is no longer being used by members to advertise their availability of freelance work. It appears that it would no longer violate NCAA legislation to have a photograph of a student-athlete appear on a members Web page.
It is also important to note that NCAA institutions and conferences may have a more stringent rule than the NCAA legislation. Although the appearance of photographs of student-athletes on SportsShooter.com does not appear to violate NCAA legislation, institutions and conferences may have rules that would preclude such postings. Further, the NCAA does not control or dictate the distribution or content of media credentials provided by institutions. Any issues or questions related to media credentials are strictly an issue that should be handled through the institution.
Additionally, the NCAA is aware that with the integration of technology in our work environment, we often have to review the impact of NCAA legislation in the face of changing technology. We at the national office help the membership review these issues and assess whether there are any legislative changes which need to be implemented to align our goal and mission with changes in technology. To that end, any insight or information that you could provide regarding the methods and/or technologies used by photographers to display their work for review or to solicit business would be appreciated.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Wendy A. Walters