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    The Dagger

    Protest helps half-court shot contest winner claim his prize

    By Jeff Eisenberg | The Dagger – Sun, Jan 8, 2012 10:32 AM EST

    Vincent Swope (ESPN3.com screen shot)

    When Kentucky freshman Vincent Swope sank a half-court shot to win a halftime contest during Saturday's game against South Carolina, he did a victory lap around sold-out Rupp Arena and began dreaming of what he could do with the $10,000.

    Vincent Swope (Twitter)Little did he know what it would take to make sure he received his money.

    One of the organizers of the contest approached Swope in the midst of his celebration with a copy of the contract he'd signed and a video replay of the shot. The man intimated to Swope that the supermarket chain Kroger might not be willing to pay the $10,000 since Swope appeared to take the shot a few inches over the mid-court stripe.

    "They said when I released the ball I was over the line," Swope said. "There are some pictures where it looks like I touched the line and some where it looks like I didn't touch the line, but that didn't even cross my mind when I shot it. I was just thinking, 'I'm $10,000 richer.'"

    Word that Kroger's might not pay Swope reached Kentucky Sports Radio founder Matt Jones during the second half of Saturday's game, so he wasted little time in organizing a movement on the freshman's behalf. Jones offered to bring Swope on his postgame radio show and encouraged his 37,000 Twitter followers to tweet in protest with the hashtag #OccupyKroger.

    Not only did hundreds of Kentucky fans follow Jones' advice, some also took the movement a step further. Two Wildcats fans made #OccupyKroger signs and stood with them in front of the Kroger in Ashland, Ky.

    To Kroger's credit, the supermarket chain didn't take long to realize the PR folly that not paying Swope would be. A representative of Kroger called Jones within an hour of the game ending on Saturday and asked him to tell Swope that he would receive the $10,000.

    "That's the Big Blue Nation for you," Swope said. "They supported me, and I really do appreciate it."

    Swope is supposed to call Kroger on Monday to find out how he'll receive his money. He plans to put most of it toward paying for school.

    The entire episode was surreal for a freshman whose greatest claim to fame before that was dressing up in a referee's costume for Kentucky games this season. Swope first did that for the North Carolina game in December and he's stuck with it ever since after he received positive feedback from his fellow students.

    "It's definitely become my trademark," Swope said. "I think I'll have to do it for the rest of my college career."

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    • Kenneth
      Kenneth  •  4 months ago
      This reminds me of Will Ferrell's character in Semi-Pro where he wouldn't give the hippie the 100 grand check.
      • Robert
        Robert 4 months ago
        Dukes was the best part of semi-pro.
      • Oliver
        Oliver 4 months ago
        No the check was just too big to go to any regular bank. He had to take it to a bigger bank.
      • Jeremy
        Jeremy 4 months ago
        he won a check that said $100,000
    • George
      George  •  4 months ago
      As others have stated, Kroger never said that they wouldn't pay - an onsite official just told Swope there was a possibility that the higher-ups MIGHT not pay, since he does appear to be over the line. In a real game, having a toe on the line makes all the difference between in bounds and out of bounds, or a 2-point shot vs. a 3-point shot, and there's no arguing the point. Since this was a P.R. gig with a $10K prize, it was an easy call by Kroger to say "close enough". Having said that, for future P.R. stunts, it would be best to just add a clause that says that if you make the shot but you have a toe over the line, you don't get the big prize but still get a consolation prize, say, $1,000 in this case, and make sure that the contestant understands that before taking the shot. P.R. nightmare solved.
      • Ryan
        Ryan 4 months ago
        That is a good idea. I've seen this happen before with situations that were similar. I think at the least in situations like these they should at least get a consolation prize for making the shot or goal or whatever it might be. I'm glad he got the money, but he was over the line. Although a half court shot isn't that easy to make in the first place so that was still pretty good.
      • JL
        JL 4 months ago
        smart answer
      • GinaD
        GinaD 4 months ago
        That's great, but this was a promo for Kroger and not the NBA. As commercials go, the cost was negligible to Kroger, so why be #$%$ about it and lose customers, which was their main consideration in the first place.
    • Living Well
      Living Well  •  4 months ago
      It's hilarious but also somewhat sad to read all the comments against Kroger. It wasn't Kroger that said they "might not" want to pay out, but an organizer that "intimated" Kroger might not. Suddenly, so many people are blaming Kroger!

      From a PR standpoint, I would suspect there was never a moments question at Kroger that they'd pay, although neither I nor anyone else not standing with those that would make that decision at Kroger can know for sure.

      Tsk, tsk people! Just relax and enjoy the moment into which this lucky young man has put himself. Kroger made the choice (and it reportedly is there choice under the contract...) to pay out and it's likely one that most people would hope to see under the circumstances.

      Find peace in your heart and enjoy life!
      • Topherelli
        Topherelli 4 months ago
        Kroger got more than $10K in free good will PR out of this. Kudos to Kroger for doing the right thing for the young student.
      • j
        j 4 months ago
        I agree, but the way they wrote it they were implying the guy was a representative of Kroger, but you know assumtions =) but you hear alot of these stories were someone dose someting like this and they are always looking for the loop hole not to pay.
      • Aviram
        Aviram 4 months ago
        True that, you know if no one was paying any attention and Kroger ( a big retail chain ) had a chance to not pay the little guy, considering the American economy, they probably wouldn't have.
    • Neil
      Neil  •  4 months ago
      Great story, but Kentucky abbreviated is KY, not Kent.
      • Seed of Abraham
        Seed of Abraham 4 months ago
        Yeah, but so is the jelly, and the last thing you'd want to read is:

        "Thanks to KY, he got everything he wanted with ease!"
      • Matt
        Matt 4 months ago
        Actually, according to the Associated Press Stylebook (the guide by which all journalists adhere to) it is abbreviated Kent. Common misconception.
      • Bill
        Bill 4 months ago
        Neil has KY obsession,but if the Associated Press is the bar by which journalism is measured, we're all going to need some KY because we're screwed.
    • chris
      chris  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  4 months ago
      The problem was the organizer opening his mouth before Kroger could even have the chance to pay up or not pay up. At least give Kroger's the chance to screw the guy before you bash them.
      • True American Many Bloods
        True American Many Bloods 4 months ago
        he should have not been paid at all due to the fact he was not at half court.people always want to bash to company for someone else that fails to follow the rules.who loses here the company does due to the announcer that started the ruckus on twitter he should have to pay the prize beings the youmg man was clearly over the line.
      • Sports Fan
        Sports Fan 4 months ago
        Good point, and I bet Kroger would have paid. He was close enough for them to pay and create all the great excitement and positive PR that this event was designed to do in the first place.
      • Ryan
        Ryan 4 months ago
        @True American Many Bloods ... if a company is going to put up a cash prize for promotion then bottom line they should be prepared to give the money away regardless. the drawing and shot just determines "who" gets it. from a business perspective id say it was ignorant to even question the shot considering the negative im guessing they still lost customers and maybe prevented tarnishing there rep. but still got a little dirt on it. there not referees there business men. besides the line is BEHIND the other promotional product the LOGO- kinda a metaphorical to what i just said if u think about it lol
    • Alex C
      Alex C  •  Laguna Hills, California  •  4 months ago
      why is he dressed like he works at foot locker
    • mark d
      mark d  •  4 months ago
      i have to agree, he was over the line. rules are rules. but as James said, there should have been a stripe or something on the blue logo, so he could tell exactly where the line is.
    • john alex
      john alex  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  4 months ago
      This is a great example of media making a scandal for NO reason. "One of the organizers -- whoever that is -- suggested that that "Kroger might not pay" because he was over the line. So suddenly there's an occupy Kroger movement! The media sucks!
    • Hugh Jerekshun
      Hugh Jerekshun  •  4 months ago
      It's just cheaper for Kroger's to pay the ten grand and forget it than to have it extorted from them through "occupy", court costs and bad PR. I bet they think twice before sponsoring something like this again.
    • ronald p
      ronald p  •  4 months ago
      That's the problem with our country. Almost right is not right. PERIOD!!!
    • Roughneckturtle
      Roughneckturtle  •  Doylestown, Pennsylvania  •  4 months ago
      For god sakes, what's the debate about. I can't say I know the rules, but it was a half court shot, and he was at half court. So what if his big toe was on the line, or across it. And, according to this story, Kroger never denied him the prize, he was just told that they MAY not pay because he looked like he crossed the line. You people comparing it to game rules, this wasn't a game winning shot, but a publicity shot. And, besides all that crap, if it had been an in game shot, it would have still made the hightlight reels, and touted as an amazing half court shot.
    • Cdizzle
      Cdizzle  •  Tampa, Florida  •  4 months ago
      Blame the school for putting a huge symbol or the half court line....I know every school and every arena does it but if the line was indefinite then there would be no question....
    • Tiger
      Tiger  •  Arvada, Colorado  •  4 months ago
      if he was white it would have been no good ! just kidding but I got your attention didn't I
    • Bobby
      Bobby  •  4 months ago
      YOU know why they payed him!
    • joe
      joe  •  4 months ago
      if it had been a white man.............noooooooooooo 10 g's
    • Paul
      Paul  •  4 months ago
      The lesson here is that if you fail or break the rules if enough people cry you will be declared a winner.
    • Kingfish
      Kingfish  •  Alpharetta, Georgia  •  4 months ago
      Does he work at Footlocker?
    • KAM
      KAM  •  4 months ago
      It is up to the contest organizers to make sure there is a CLEAR line to shoot from. The line is not clear, it is so close that they need to pay.
    • adam c
      adam c  •  4 months ago
      Math quiz at Kentucky University...... 100 × 50% = 49.9 ....... A+ $10,0000!!!
    • JL
      JL  •  New Berlin, Wisconsin  •  4 months ago
      He's clearly over the line...anyone can see that
     Post a comment

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