Sunday, April 7, 2013

Profiting from Injury?

If you have been keeping up with the NCAA Tournament, you are probably aware of the horrific injury that happened to Univeristy of Louisville's player, Kevin Ware. It has become a topic of discussion for many of my peers because of the grotesque nature of the injury. I found an article that talked about a campaign by Adidas and Louisville in which they are making T-shirts with the slogan "Ri5e To The Occasion"(the number 5 signifies the number on Ware's jersey). At first glance, this seems like a great tactic to raise money for Ware and the expensive medical fees that he will have to pay. To my surprise, as I read further in the article, I found out that none of the profits from the T-shirts go to Ware. I think that this is absolutely ridicuolous that they would not give any of the money to the person that actually deserves it.The rationale for this is that, "college athletes are prohibited from receiving money for their efforts" and profits from a T-shirt would be no exception from this rule. This means that the NCAA, Adidas and his university are profiting from his injury.The shirt was created as a respectful tribute that fans could engage in but it does not seem right that the corporation is making money from the misfortune of someone.

This instance is an prime example of the marketing that plays a major role in our society. Many people would have the same initial reaction that I did and purchase the T-shirt to help (financially) support Kevin Ware. But, they are unknowingly giving all of their money to Adidas and the university. I think this also speaks to the control that large institutions such as universities and companies possess.They have strong reputations and are able to boost their public appearance if they "support" a cause such as this one. Do you think that the actions of Adidas and the university are ethical?


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