Teddy V & Nike
 

Just finished watching Duke v UNC. During a video review in OT I noticed that Ted Valentine had a Nike “swoosh” on the back of his Smitty’s shirt and on the back of his pants. Obviously perfectly placed for screen time during a table review. It certainly appears as though “TV” Teddy has some sort of deal with Nike.

I’m sure that the ACC has an official supplier presumably Smitty’s as all three officials were wearing a Smitty’s shirt (only Teddy V’s had the swooshes). I would think Smitty’s has paid some money for the right to be the official shirt of the ACC and have the sole logo on that shirt. I would further think that they wouldn’t be happy that Teddy V has added a logo.

Does anyone have any knowledge of any other D1 officials who have some sort of “sponsorship deal” like this or does anyone have any knowledge regarding contracts between officials and conferences with regard to what they are allowed and not allowed to wear?

Thanks.

I have no knowledge of this whatsoever, but wanted to post in this thread to say, if the coaches and teams (hence the school’s athletic program) can arrange for sponsorship deals with Nike, Adidas, Reebok, etc., and the conference doesn’t have any objection to it, then the officials should be allowed to do so as well.
They are independent contractors and desire to make money too.

I would not advocate a large advertisement on the shirt or pants, but one which complies with the size restrictions for the logos on the uniforms of the players would seem an appropriate standard.

Btw Valentine has been wearing Nike shoes with a visible white swoosh emblem for several years. This seems like the next logical step for him.

I don’t have a problem with it either. If he can make a few extra bucks good for him, but I would be surprised if Smitty’s thought it was ok if they have an exclusive contract with the ACC.

I'm not sure of that. Smitty's is one of the most popular brands right now -- this could just be a coincidence. (But I am open to learning more)

I go to a couple preseason clinics with ACC Alliance guys. Never heard any of them being required to wear certain shirts.

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I believe Smitty has a contract for the NCAA Championships, but I haven't heard of a requirement to wear the shirts for the regular season.

I love Valentine doing this and most everything he does. It drives a certain number of people crazy that he still gets assignments like these (search his name on Twitter), but it shows that top level coaches and assigners appreciate officials who know how to take control. If Nike is throwing him a few bucks, good for him.

Smitty is the one that makes the shirt the NCAA Men's approved for the most part. Most vendors sell the Smitty branded shirt. On the other hand Honig's make the same shirt, but they have an exclusive contract with the NAIA. I would not even be surprised if Honig's does not sell the Smitty shirt and looking at the Honig's page, they sell a shirt that is not made by Smitty. So it is possible he had a logo put on his shirts (and pants) on some level. He has been wearing Nike shoes for years.

Peace

If Teddy does indeed receive Nike money then I imagine they would have made a custom shirt and pants with the swoosh for him.

In which case it's surprising that we don't see more officials doing something similar.

Half Price On April 20 ...
 

A guy pays me $50.00 a season to wear this logo on the back of my basketball officiating uniform jersey.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.q...=0&w=300&h=300

I think that he's some kind of a florist?

It drives a certain number of officials crazy too, including some on this forum.

I can’t say on the pants, but he was clearly wearing a Smitty shirt that had a Smitty logo on the back. Above the Smitty logo was a Nike swoosh. Nike absolutely did NOT make this shirt.

JRut can you get a screen grab from the official review with about 12 seconds left in OT?

But either way it seems like there’s no “official” shirt until the NCAA tournament. I say good for Ted if he can get a couple extra bucks.

Am I doing this because of his shirt? Because I usually do not post videos to highlight things like that. I post videos that show some educational value or rules information. This has nothing to do with a rule or even a standard. For all we know is that he was given a shirt with a logo because they provided them to him. I have no idea, nor honestly care. He is on TV a lot and Nike might want to test if they can get some attention by highlighting a guy that is on TV all the time.

On a side note, funny how all that controversy a couple of years about what Teddy did to the UNC player and he worked their most important game at home of all places. Just goes to show that the things we get worried about and claim we know something about, did not at all influence his career in that very conference. Just ironic all the complaining people did about Teddy but someone likes him and keeps hiring him.

Peace

Him getting bounced by the B1G didn't seem to hurt him much. Figured it wouldn't.

He's in his 60s now, so I expect he will go on his own accord at some point, but he's in the best shape of his life and people still want him.

No one in the Good 'Ol Boy network was complaining. I'd imagine, not being in that network, that everyone in it thought that the UNC incident was hilarious. I might even wager that the incident itself was some sort of bet Teddy made with a colleague, lol.

It was still childish, unprofessional, and lacking in class.

And he is still working. So there you go. I guess our opinion does not matter. But this is a bigger lesson in our lives.

Peace

since we're on the topic...
 

I was recently told by a referee colleague of mine that the red and blue
"N F H S" logo that is stamped on the upper back of referee jerseys is no longer being done by referee shirt sellers. You cannot get this logo put on the back of your ref shirts anymore-- apparently there were licensing issues--this is what a Ref colleague told me.

But this whole issue brings to the fore a key issue: are we Officials considered to be "walking advertisements" ? Much like the jerseys of many sports that bear a private company logo (e.g., Roku, Fly Emirites, CBD Online) that is prominently placed on the uniform clothing article/jersey/pant--ergo making these players "walking billboards".

And, if this trend is taken to the taken to the most absurd extreme: our whistles, socks, pants, lanyards, and shirts could eventually bear some type of prominent company logo. As Officials, you all are in what I call a "uniquely visible status" on the court---so your clothing will be clearly seen by many people (fans, coaches, players, news highlights, etc...).

You might think "who cares what that ref is wearing [or advertising]" ; however, visual cues [ads] are definitely noticed. Would you take money to wear a private company logo on your ref attire? I would.

None of my shirts has ever had such a logo

edited: I seem to recall that NFHS once sold / supplied shirts -- maybe these had the logo (like H on Honigs shirts or the S on Smitty's shirts).

I have never seen it either. I have seen the state association logos, the IAABO roundel, and American flags show up on officiating shirts, but never the NFHS logo.

I'm Gonna Party Like It's 1912 ...
 

(Apologies to Prince)

Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. has an old officiating shirt with an American flag with only forty-six stars, from before New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii were states.

I think that he still wears it for scrimmages.

https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.o...=0&w=300&h=300

I'm all for refs getting fairly compensated. But I don't at all like the idea of refs being able to cut deals to wear logos or advertising in games. Nike, addidas, etc., sponsor teams because they want to be associated with them--they want to be associated with WINNERS. If a Nike sponsored team is playing an addidas sponsored team, Nike wants "its" team to win, as that supports the profile it is trying to build by the millions it is paying the school. Having a ref on the court also being paid by Nike is, IMO, a really bad idea.

There has to be an obvious answer but.....

What is the difference between that and the giant Nike swoosh on his shoes? Aren't we all guilty of wearing company logo items on our feet? Why is that universally accepted but other apparel items are not. Is it because the NCAA is lenient with regards to shoes, whistles, and other small items that aren't really relevant? I'm surprised Smittys or Honigs or whoever have not had there own shoe brand so that the NCAA could mandate them and require refs to wear them so they fill their pockets more. Much like the shirts, pants, jackets, etc.

Smitty does sell shoes. They have court shoes, plate umpire shoes, and field shoes, as of 2019.

After my post, a quick search revealed just that. When will the NCAA require officials to wear them, lol. As independent contractors, perhaps officials will start to seek endorsements and wear company logos. Are there any logo restrictions on officials shirts? lol and why no restrictions on logo size on shoes?
:D:D:D

Scarcity of Visibility
 

Often I watch a high profile TV game with officials near and dear to my heart working. I am really locked in on catching every frames where my favorite ref is visible. If he were getting paid 5 bucks a second for his TV airtime, I doubt he would earn enough for a good dinner. I am left disappointed at the relatively short exposure during the game.

I honestly don't think the illustrious Teddy V has any pecuniary rewards owing to his choice of apparel, even with his 56 games this season.

Just not enough time to make it worthwhile for sponsors.

One of your favorite officials picked up an easy $187 this past Saturday due to my injury. :D

It may not seem that way, but I have seen more posts on social media about what Teddy is wearing than any other official at any level of officiating, that includes guys in the NFL, NBA or MLB. So it might not be worth their while, but there is certainly a lot of discussion about what he is doing.

Peace

That escaped me. I need to hit him up for my cut...

Somehow I missed this, um, Valentine a couple days ago:

https://twitter.com/SportsChannel8/s...78409653964801

:D

Old news, and why he was dropped from B1G 10.

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Woooosh.