NFL Mandates Red Vests With Logos for Photographers

The NFL Leads the Way In Answering the Question: Just How Much of a Whore Can A Sports League Force Any Individual To Be?

SA* (sort of)

The National Football League, ever mindful of the value of sponsorships, has decided that players no longer get to keep their own names. A Mr. Larry Yoder of Yonkers, New York, has paid $15,000 to the NFL for the naming rights to New York Jets' cornerback Justin Miller, his favorite player.

Justin Miller is not smiling about being called "Larry Yoder" for Game 3

Miller was naturally incensed, but the NFL is adamant: during the third game of the upcoming season, which Mr. Yoder has tickets to attend with his formerly estranged wife and daughter, Miller will have to wear a jersey with "YODER" on the back, and all NFL-annointed television and radio announcers will refer to Miller as "Larry Yoder" whenever they mention him. As in, "That was meant to be an out pattern, but Larry Yoder had the wideout smothered." The NFL insists that Miller be referenced this way at least three times, to give Mr. Yoder his money's worth.

The issue of naming rights to players themselves comes in the wake of the announcement that all photographers covering NFL games must wear red vests prominently displaying Canon and Reebok logos**. This has angered many photographers, who feel that it is "distasteful and unethical." Especially star photographer Sims Blonk of the Springfield [VT] Times, who shoots with Nikons and wears Nikes. And hates photo vests.

Furthermore, the NFL has announced that for a cool $25 million, it will rename itself. Restaurant chain Hooters is said to be interested, although restaurant attorneys and NFL attorneys are still involved in intense negotiations as to whether the organization will be known as the "The Hooters National Football League" (the name preferred by the League) or "The Hooters Football League" (the name preferred by the restaurant chain) for the 2010 season.

*Satire Alert
**This part, incredibly, is real

______________

Mike  (Thanks to Michael Tapes)

Comments

[Will]

Years ago, the greed issue forced me to give up on mercenary sports. Clearly, the problem has gone from bad to disgusting, but while you've got your skewer out, don't forget the players, who are undoubtedly upset that their agents didn't think of this naming-rights scam first.

[stephen connor]

This is great! Now I have a moral justification for not buying Canons, on top of the somewhat more nebulous, "I dunno--I just don't like 'em" reason.

[R. Edelman]

Hey Mike,

I'm a doc. I'm thinking that maybe we'll be offered money to wear drug and device logos on our lab coats and scrubs. Urologists could have the Viagra and Cialis folks compete for the highest bid. Hematologists could have EPO logos on their lab coats. The orthopedic surgeons could advertise prosthetic joints. Pathologists could advertise mortuaries.

R. Edelman

[John Roberts]

OK, I understand the objection a Nikon shooter would have to the Canon advertising. I get that part. But please, sports photographer guy, spare me the "this could compromise my journalistic integrity" malarkey. Integrity means just saying, "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing Canon gear", and leave it at that. Save all the pious sounding platitudes for the politicians.

[Mike]

R. Edelman,
A relative of mine's a doctor too. He graduated from med school determined never to accept any pharmaceutical company swag. Of course, now, after several decades in practice, everything from his pens to his putter have drug names emblazoned on them. Hard to avoid, I guess.

Mike

[wtlloyd]

HaHa! If I gave a damn about pro sports, I might care more about this. As it is, I don't. The entire industry is about money and marketing, so don't think photogs can ride the high horse and claim they are journalists first. They are merely tolerated as necessary panderers to the whole enterprise...

IMHO, this is the first honest marketing move the NFL has made in decades...Can you say 'WWE'?

[Tran]

For satirical purposes, it would have been better if Mr. Blonk wore Nikes; Reebok and Adidas are the same company... ;)

[Oleg Shpak]

Stephen, "I just do not like them" is a perfectly great reason and possibly the only one that really matter.
News about NFL is about the world that I could not care less. I wonder what will happen if no journalists will follow NFL's rules. They are not their employers after all, and there will be no NFL without journalists.

[chuck kimmerle]

"But please, sports photographer guy, spare me the "this could compromise my journalistic integrity" malarkey. Integrity means just saying, "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing Canon gear", and leave it at that."

Why are you assuming that only Nikon shooters are raising the alarm? This proposed rule adversely effects ALL photographers covering the NFL, and the objections are coming en masse, not just from one side of the camera debate.

[mare]

An ethic is a largely a personal principle.

Promoting a product one does not believe in would be hypocritical and hypocrisy (simulation or pretense) should count as an ethical violation, I think.

[Michael Seltzer]

How awful! How arrogant! They NFL is behaving like a petty dictator, like a spoiled child ordering everybody about, saying "Mine, mine, mine." These journalists have a job to do; a job the NFL profits by. By doing their jobs, the NFL gets publicity that it needs to survive. They're not cattle to be branded. Yet the NFL treats them like property, like they were nothing more than placards the NFL owned and could paint anyway they want to. That's so offensive.

By the way, how much would it cost to name a minor player? Maybe someone who just sits on the bench all the time....

[Hayden H]

Just a quick comment, yes i can see why people would object to this, especially the players who have to be someonelse, but here in NZ, photogs who cover the Professional Rugby (Super 14, Air NZ cup and the All Black's Internationals) have to wear brightly coloured bibs with Addidas logos and logos of the particular competition on them, plus each has a number on it that the shooter gets issued and they are recorded at issue so the media officers can identify each photographer easily. The majority of the pro guys dont mind, it means they are visible on the sidelines, and they dont worry about it. Recently, Canon NZ hosted Neil Leifer who shot his first rugby game, afterwards he commented thst the bibs were a good idea and that NFL officials should look at because it identifies the photographers from all the other officials on the sidelines. Just my 2c but if a legend like Neil Leifer can like it

[none]

I read that neither Canon nor Reebok actually paid for this.

[A.G. Martinez]

The photographers on the field are much concerned about the art of their craft as they are getting paid, this does not mean that they should roll-with-the-punches, stop whining, and let their bodies become advertising space for a corporation.

[Robert Roaldi]

A problem with making satirical comments about pro sports is that it's very difficult to outdo the outlandishness of the reality. I haven't paid attention to pro football for about 20 years but occasionally catch a glimpse of the halftime shows and I always wonder if I'm not watching a spoof.

It's a shame because athletics at a high level can be sublime to watch.

[Colin Hazelden]

Just on your final bit of satire (?) about naming the league. Just like sponsored photos' bibs, this is very common in Europe already. "The Barclays Premiership" in England for example.
Its amazing what you get used to ...
... worth a lot LOT more than $25m though!

[Paul G.]

I had to double check the date on the post to make sure it wasn't April 1st.

One more reason to give up on Commercial football.
I don't appreciate camera bigotry - I have my preferences, that being a camera I can afford, that fits well in my hand and works reliably Canon and Nikon both fit those requirements.

[james davis]

Boycott Canon and Reebok. And just stop covering NFL games. Hit them where it hurts - the bottom line.

[www.results-videos-news.com]

I read that neither Canon nor Reebok actually paid for this

[KG Lew]

lol.. I like Canon.. and Nikon .. wear nikes , what is with the vests?

[Joe]

What a joke.