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Commercialization A Sticky Issue

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By KATHERINE SMITH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

TAMPA - Derek Winter and his Plant High football teammates were the hottest kids in town.

Having just won the Class 4A state championship, the Plant Panthers were in demand. They appeared on parade floats, on a billboard and even led the Tampa Bay players out of the Raymond James Stadium tunnel and onto the football field at a Bucs home game.

'We could have had billboards all over the place,' Winter said. 'You're hot when you're winning and people want you.'

Area businesses proclaimed their love for Plant with signs in front of their buildings congratulating the champs. Winter set a Hillsborough County record with 90 receptions during the title run. Had he wanted, he could have shown off his long curly locks in a commercial or advertisement.

'The only reason I didn't get an offer is because I haven't cut my hair in about a year,' Winter said. 'What salon would want to use me? Who wants their hair to look like this?'

Hair salons might not have sought Winter's mug to sell products, but a Lakeland car dealership recently used some Dreadnaughts players to hawk their merchandise.

The players appear in a 30-minute infomercial for Suzuki of Lakeland, a spot that will run until Oct. 31. Sales manager Dan Swanson said the dealership uses different themes for their commercials and this month decided to go with a football theme.

And what's more football in Lakeland than the six-time state champion Dreadnaughts?

'Everybody loves it,' Swanson said. 'Everybody was great. We've had nothing but positive responses to it.'

The mere fact Lakeland players were used begs the question - should high school athletes peddle products?

The Dreadnaughts players were not paid for their appearance. Swanson said they checked with the Florida High School Athletics Association for the rules to make sure none were broken.

'In fact, we didn't even offer the boys water during the filming for fear it would be a violation,' Swanson said.

FHSAA senior associate executive director and chief administrative officer Sonny Hester, who is responsible for compliance, said his organization researched the Lakeland incident and concluded no rules were broken.

'We were told by the principal and the dealership that the kids were not paid,' Hester said. 'We don't have a rule against participation.'

But should they? At the very least, the Lakeland players' participation in the commercial could affect their NCAA eligibility. At the most, it opens the high school athletes up to a new world, one they might not be prepared for.

With celebrity comes great responsibility.

'As minors and young folks, for the most part, athletes handle themselves well,' said Bob Hicks of Hicks Advertising Group. 'I think commercially, they should wait until an athlete is older because some might not be able to handle the recognition.'

But as high school programs are garnering more and more national attention, via ESPN exposure and other cable outlets, players are getting recognized for their hard work on the football field.

'I think we've gotten to a day and age where high school stadiums are now giving naming rights with people paying big money for it,' Gaither coach Mark Kantor said. 'I know a part of it is this is an amateur sport and it should stay that way. And then another part of it is its exposure for your program, especially a program, like Lakeland, that has worked hard and earned a lot.'

Tempering that exposure, regardless of a school's success, falls partly onto the coach. Plant coach Robert Weiner learned as such as soon as his team won the school's first football state title last year.

'There's definitely a fine line that you can not cross,' Weiner said. 'If you're getting paid or anything like that, if you're breaking rules, then it should definitely not be allowed. But I think to a certain degree, recognition comes with success.'

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

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