Donald De La Haye is now a former member of the UCF football team after refusing to comply with the NCAA about his YouTube account. This is something the kicker has been wrestling with for a while now, and we covered his initial interaction with the NCAA about this nearly two months ago.
The NCAA released a statement on Monday in which it detailed the reasons why it has ruled De La Haye ineligible.
“Although Donald De La Haye has chosen not to compete any longer as a UCF student-athlete, he could have continued playing football for the university and earn money from non-athletic YouTube videos, based on a waiver the NCAA granted July 14,” the statement read.
“Contrary to misperceptions, making a YouTube video — and even making money off of it — is not a violation of an NCAA rule. Further, years ago the membership gave NCAA staff the ability to review situations like these on a case-by-case basis, consistent with previous actions.”
In the end, De La Haye’s decision not to separate his athletically-related videos from non-athletic videos on his YouTube account cost him his eligibility. Given that he has over 91,000 subscribers and that he can pull off trick kicks like this, it’s not all that surprising that De La Haye has opted to continue making these videos for his account.
In the end, this decision doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t pursue a career in the NFL, either. If he can prove he’s good enough, he’ll land a job.