Delaware athletes can make money from ads, but one high school went way too far

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This month Delaware joined the growing list of states that permit high school athletes to earn money from their “name, image and likeness” without jeopardizing their eligibility to play.

Scholastic athletes in America are piggybacking on what their collegiate counterparts have been able to do since 2021. Some NCAA stars, such as former University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and current University of Colorado football quarterback Shedeur Sanders, have become millionaires under the so-called NIL rules even before turning pro.

In Delaware, however, appearing in commercials filmed at the school and displaying its logo, or wearing your team uniform, has been explicitly banned at least since 2005 by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA), which governs high school sports. That rule remains in effect, even with the new NIL rules.

So what were Indian River High School’s administrators and coaches thinking last month when they let more than 20 football players appear in a 30-second TV spot for Hershey Exteriors, a Sussex County remodeling and roofing contractor?

The players wore their full uniforms and pads and were seated inside the school’s stadium. Three players stood and spoke, and two coaches also had speaking lines.

Indian River school and district officials won’t say what led them to shoot the ad whose production was in clear violation of longstanding state policies.

But the DIAA immediately began investigating, and last week formally reprimanded Indian River for “failure to comply with DIAA regulations concerning student-athlete eligibility and amateur status,” the agency said in a news release.

“While no direct compensation or benefits were provided to the students or school personnel, the participation in the commercial jeopardized the amateur status of the student-athletes.”

DIAA would not provide the reprimand letter to WHYY News. Spokeswoman Caitlin Finkley said the reason is because the disciplinary action is still “currently going through the legal process.”

But the agency’s news release said the Indian River players and coaches “participated in the commercial under the supervision of the [school] athletic department” and that “violations of these regulations risk compromising the integrity of Delaware’s high school sports programs.”

State rules stipulate that players could be banned from competition for ads like the one Indian River participated in, but DIAA decided not to penalize the students. All are still eligible to play for the Dagsboro school’s football team, which currently has a 7-1 record and is on track for a berth in the Division 1A playoffs for Delaware’s smaller schools.

Indian River Athletic Director Todd Fuhrman did not respond to a request from WHYY News about why he let the student-athletes appear in the commercial, which violated the rule and jeopardized their eligibility to play and amateur status.

Draper Media, which creates advertising for stations such as WBOC, an affiliate of Fox and NBC that is based in Salisbury, Maryland, and reaches Delaware’s Sussex and Kent counties, produced the Indian River spot.

Tyler Hershey, who owns Hershey Exteriors, said his sales rep at WBOC recommended making the ad and told him Indian River administrators had given it the green light. Officials at WBOC would not comment.

As part of the reprimand, DIAA directed Indian River to ask Draper Media and WBOC-TV to “remove the commercial from further broadcasts.”

District spokesman David Maull would not agree to an interview but said in an email that “the ad was actually pulled by the advertiser” earlier this month. Indian River High principal Michael Williams sent a letter last week to “Draper Media/WBOC” and asked them to remove the commercial “per our state athletic association request.”

While Maull would not disclose why Indian River permitted the commercial using players, coaches, uniforms, and the school stadium, he issued a statement that said the district is “grateful this issue will not affect the hard work of our team, coaches and volunteers.”

Maull added that “district officials commit to a thorough understanding of all DIAA regulations moving forward to prevent another issue arising in the future.”