Adidas stops selling Ware shirt
Adidas is no longer selling T-shirts featuring the jersey number of injured Louisville guard Kevin Ware, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
The company cited a "logo issue" for discontinuing the sale of the shirt, according to ESPN.com. The shirt read, "Rise to the Occassion," with Ware's No. 5 substituted for the "S" in "Rise."
Ware suffered a gruesome-looking broken right leg Sunday in Louisville's win over Duke.
There had been controversy over the fact that Louisville or adidas was profiting from an injured player. Louisville had said it had waived adidas' royalties for the shirt so it would not be profiting and that adidas would make contributions to the university's scholarship fund.
However, a lawyer who represents former UCLA player Ed O'Bannon and other former college athletes in a lawsuit against the NCAA and Electronic Arts regarding their rights to use players' likenesses without compensation said Thursday that Louisville shouldn't be able to sell the shirt.
"The fact that there is money going to the scholarship fund doesn't change things," said Rob Carey, co-lead counsel on the case, according to ESPN.,com. "If they didn't ask for Ware's permission, they can't sell the shirt, and if they did ask for his permission and he said, 'Yes,' that would be an NCAA violation and he would no longer be eligible."
