University of Central Florida placekicker Donald De La Haye is no longer with the Knights’ football program after failing to agree to demonetize YouTube videos.
UCF Athletics announced on Monday that after De La Haye failed to accept a waiver from the NCAA he would no longer be able to compete in NCAA-sanctioned athletics. The waiver allowed De La Haye to make monetized videos that didn’t reference his status as a student-athlete or present his football skills on his YouTube channel “Deestroying.” Any videos referencing his student-athlete status and football skills could be uploaded to a separate, non-monetized account.
The initial waiver was sent to the NCAA by UCF on behalf of De La Haye. After the NCAA agreed to the terms of the waiver, De La Haye did not and was, therefore, ruled ineligible.
De La Haye did not attempt any field goals or extra points last season, but losing him will affect the special teams, as De La Haye was the team’s kickoff specialist. Last season, De La Haye was the only Knight to kick off, recording 37 touchbacks in 73 kickoffs.
As recently as July 27, De La Haye was in the team’s plans.
“Donald is a member of our team,” Frost said after practice on July 27. “I think he’s working through with the issues with the NCAA right now. He’s a valuable member of our team, and I hope it all works out for him. We’re gonna do everything we can to try to make it work as long as he can come to an agreement with [the] NCAA.”
De La Haye’s YouTube channel “Deestroying” has over 148,000 subscribers and has amassed 6.5 million views.
For more on the Knights and how they’ll address losing their kickoff specialist, follow Ryan on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.
