USA Today Sports
Talk about a week of public and media driven pressure in college basketball.
From the criticism surrounding the Pac-12 and its referees to the ongoing saga that has become Rutgers men’s basketball, there has been plenty of public outcry this week. In addition to the two aforementioned story lines, another cry for action was created in relation to Kevin Ware and the t-shirts that were being sold by Adidas.
Ware shattered his right leg in Sunday’s Elite 8 victory and has been seen as a motivation for his teammates and all of Louisville since. Ware has recovered nicely considering the injury that occurred just five days ago and the sophomore guard will actually be in attendance for the Cardinals’ Final Four contest against Wichita State.
Well, as for the public outcry surrounding Ware over the past few days, it actually relates directly to the production of those t-shirts. The “Ri5e to the Occasion” shirts were created and sold by Adidas while Louisville waived its licensing fee in which case all the profits would go into a university scholarship fund.
On Friday afternoon, according to a report from USA Today, Adidas made the decision to stop selling the Ware jerseys. “The shirt is not currently for sale,” Madeline Breskin, an Adidas spokesperson told USA Today.
This of course relates directly to the ongoing argument involving athletes and pay. Ware, who did not seem to have any issue with the sale of the t-shirts, would not have seen any of the profits.
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
