NFL player (Urlacher) fined $100,000 for Super Bowl hat

[charlie and algernon]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6702252?MSNHPHMA

NEW YORK (AP) - Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 by the NFL for wearing a cap during Super Bowl media day that promoted a sponsor not authorized by the league.

NFL rules prohibit gear that advertises any product but a designated sponsor, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday.
Urlacher was fined for drinking vitaminwater and wearing a vitaminwater hat during the media session in Miami leading to the title game. Gatorade is the NFL's official drink.

McCarthy said this is the first time such a fine has been levied. He added that $100,000 is the standard fine for such a violation at the Super Bowl. A violation during the regular season is $10,000. It is $50,000 at the Pro Bowl.


:wtf:

anyone else getting sick of this control corporations have over our culture?

This is similar to an incident in NASCAR where a driver was fined for removing the race's sponser's item off the roof of his car during his victory celebration.
I think his fine was $10,000!

[RB TexLa]

1. What if it were a McDonald's employee wearing a Burger King hat?

would you say he should be able to do that on the job?

[charlie and algernon]

2. that's different, that's a uniform

last i checked, the only uniform hats football players have are their team hats, not corporate hats.

[onethatcares]

4. that might change as more and more corporations buy teams

hell, they already own most of the stadiums and have even convinced a lot of the public that it's good for the public to pay for them. Whatever, I think the players sign contracts that cover every item.

[RB TexLa]

6. They don't own the stadiums, they pay to have their name put on it

The city of Arlington owned what is now "Rangers Ballpark at Arlington" the entire time that Ameriquest was paying to have it called "Ameriquest Park at Arlington."

[dysfunctional press]

10. the sponsors don't always get the best out of those naming deals...

here in chicago, the United(airlines) Center is always referred to on sportscasts as "The U.C."- it seems that American Airlines buys commercials on the networks as well, but didn't want to here it's competetor getting free adtime(that it payed for?) on the local newscasts.

and the white sox don't play at U.S.Cellular Field, they play at "The Cell" -once again, U.S. Cellular isn't the only mobile phone company to buy ad time on local newscasts.

[RB TexLa]

5. The NFL along with all sports leagues as well as many college teams have sponsors

They pay to have their stuff worn and shown.

How about if Coca-Cola which is what is in McDonalds, provided Diet Coke hats. The employees could wear them if they want and someone chooses to wear a Diet Pepsi hat to work? Still no problem with that?

[soothsayer]

3. eh, charge the sponsor $200k, get a $100k fine, it's all good.

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. What's the fine for an illegal hit

that puts an opposing player in hospital?



Just curious.

[ieoeja]

8. First time? Must mean in the Superbowl.

Jim McMahon, Bears QB in '85 (must be a Bears thing), was fined 5 grand for wearing an Adidas headband on the sidelines during a game.

[jmowreader]

9. The NASCAR thing wasn't a RACE sponsor's item

Coca-Cola is the Official Soft Drink of NASCAR. When a racer wins and pulls into Victory Circle, they always pile a bunch of Official Items of NASCAR shit on the roof of the winning car--a case of Coke, an Exide battery, a bottle of Quaker State oil, that sort of thing. Then they pass out a shitload of Powerade. And you're not allowed to display a competitor's product on your roof.

Jimmie Johnson, the driver in question, drives for Hendrick Motorsports--who is sponsored in part by Pepsi. Most sponsorship contracts stipulate that a driver can't be seen with a competitor's product. (The worst one I know of is Dale Earnhardt Jr's contract with Budweiser, which says he cannot drink any alcoholic beverage of any kind unless it's from Anheuser-Busch.) It would be unseemly for a Pepsi driver to have a case of Coke on his car, so his crew blocked the Coke from being displayed and NASCAR nailed them for $10,000.

The final disposition was a new rule pertaining to this situation: if you're sponsored by a competitor to an official NASCAR sponsor, and that competitor is not sponsoring the race, NASCAR doesn't put their product on the roof and you don't display yours.

All this is nothing compared to what Richard Childress Racing is contending with. They have three cars: one sponsored by Shell, one by Cingular and one by Jack Daniel's. The whole series is sponsored by a phone company, who has decided that no team can take on sponsorship from a competing phone company. They grandfathered anyone who was sponsored by a phone company when it was Winston Cup, but no new phone companies can come in. Well...Cingular is about to be renamed AT&T. Says Sprint, that's a new sponsor so you can't paint AT&T on the car. Says RCR, it's the same sponsor they had all along just under new ownership, so why the hell CAN'T they? It's a good thing RCR is sponsored by a whiskey company. They're gonna need some.

[dysfunctional press]

11. Urlacher has no problem signing his contract and collecting his paycheck...

he should have no problem abiding by the rules. and if he does- he should have no problem paying a fine.

so- what's the big problem with all this again?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. A few years ago, there was a "Pepsi" day at a high school.

In order to get money for some basic necessity, I'm guessing asbestos removal, a school brought in the Pepsi corporation to put pop machines in their hallsways, and they had some big assembly where they had performers in Pepsi can outfits, rapping about how drinking pepsi is cool. OK, I'm exaggerating, but not by much. They really had a "Pepsi Day" complete with a Pepsi assembly. They brought out a Pepsi spokesperson to give a motivational speech. Anyway, some kid decided he'd wear his Coke t-shirt.

The Principal had that kid suspended.

[Forkboy]

13. Get that man a Rozelle headband!

:)