Opinion: A new jersey policy would be an embarrassing farce

Several high-profile Division I NCAA colleges are changing their jersey policies, and UNC might be joining them.

While the University might not be able to do anything to change the upcoming jersey policy at this point, they could do something to boost morale over the sad state of affairs.

Starting next school year, players’ numbers might not appear on the back of jerseys available for sale. Instead of having No. 5 for Marcus Paige, fans would have the options of generic numbers, like zero or the last two digits of the current year.

This move would seem to be designed to preempt potential legal pitfalls related to using players’ likenesses for commercial purposes.

In August of last year, a California district court judge ruled in favor of Ed O’Bannon, a former UCLA player and lead plaintiff in the antitrust class action lawsuit O’Bannon v. NCAA.

In the case, O’Bannon, on behalf of Division I football and basketball players, sued the NCAA over their commercial usage of players’ image and likeness. The judge ruled that upon graduation, student-athletes should receive compensation of up to $5,000 per academic year for the usage of their image and likeness.

In response, several universities including UNC, might have specific players’ numbers removed from jerseys. Under this policy, players would not be able to gain compensation from jerseys because they will no longer use their likenesses.

With this model, top tier players bear the brunt of this, since they are the players whose jerseys are sold most frequently and are most readily available.

Numbers that are placed on jerseys are decided by the manufacturer. Since Nike manufactures jerseys, the decision is ultimately theirs.

However, the University does not have to sheepishly go along with a transparently sleazy way of avoiding compensating players for their celebrity — a status for them the University actively promotes.

While it is understandable that they must follow NCAA bylaws and have little leverage over Nike’s decisions, a public statement saying they don’t agree with the rule would help to assure players that the University is looking out for their best interests.

In addition, this response could improve school spirit. Fans often buy jerseys with the numbers of their favorite players, contributing to camaraderie between fans and athletes.

For fans of college sports, especially die-hard, lifelong fans, buying a jersey with their favorite player’s number is a ritual-like process.

This new policy would result in a net loss for the UNC community, even if it results in savings from denying athletes their just compensation.