Teddy V & Nike

[biz2]

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.

[Nevadaref]

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.

[biz2]

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.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by biz2

I’m sure that the ACC has an official supplier presumably Smitty’s

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)

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by biz2

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

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Rich]

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.

[JRutledge]

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.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by AremRed

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

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



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

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by Rich

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.

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

[biz2]

Originally Posted by AremRed

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.

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.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by biz2

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

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

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.

[bucky]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Just ironic all the complaining people did about Teddy but someone likes him and keeps hiring 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.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

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.

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