MSU’s No. 1 ranking has put a lot of eyes on MSU and its athletic program. Across the state, people look to show support for the teams and players they love.   Unfortunately,  this increase in demand for all things Maroon and White has lead to some legal concerns for MSU.
 One of several problems that have arisen, Bracky Brett, associate athletic director for compliance said, involves a by-law of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
“NCAA legislation prohibits the use of the name, picture or likeness of a student-athlete who has current or remaining collegiate athletic eligibility, on a commercial item or to advertise, recommend or promote a commercial item or service of any kind,” Brett said  in an email sent to the Alumni Association. “Such activity could jeopardize the eligibility of the student-athlete depicted.”
These are things that can seem harmless, like a T-shirt that says ‘Dak Attack’ or a jersey with an active player’s name printed on it. Even things as simple as a business posting a sign in front of its store with a picture of the team on it is an issue, according to Brett. 
Brett said the reason things such as those carry a legal implication lies in the fact that student athletes, along with professional athletes and anyone else who may find themselves in the spotlight, have a right to protect against the use of their own name and image without their consent. 
Furthermore, by NCAA’s ruling, no student athlete may profit from being an athlete and therefore cannot consent to his or her image being used for anything commercial, lest he or she be suspended.
Brett  also    said this extends even to their autographs, of which they have been told to always make as personal as possible in an effort to make them undesirable to others, as an increasing amount of people request signatures with the intent of selling them online. 
“They don’t just have a ball to sign, they have a whole sack of stuff,” Brett said. “Helmets, balls, they’ve got all this stuff. Coach Mullen does a great job with our football team and talking to them about these things.”
Brett said people seeking autographs do not just limit themselves to pursuing the team as they leave the locker rooms to board the buses, but will also go as far as to wait for them at the hotel they are spending the night in. 
“Those are the people we have to be really diligent about,” Brett said. “Those who want to take advantage of our program and our kids for their own personal gain.”
The Georgia Bulldogs have already experienced similar issues when a predominant player, Todd Gurley, willingly accepted more than $3,000 for autographs and, according to ESPN, has been suspended until Nov. 15.
“That’s the kind of issues we hope we don’t have, where a student athlete is knowingly doing things like that. We have obtained legal counsel for Dak to protect his name and likeness,” Brett said. “My obligation is to send [offenders] a cease and desist letter. It doesn’t mean they stopped, just that we told them to stop. I don’t have legal authority to go after them past that, but the student athlete’s attorney does.”
Another legal concern MSU faces is the unlicensed sale of merchandise with the MSU athletic logo or any other registered trademark belonging to MSU. Like the student athletes, MSU itself has the right to control the use of its image and logos. Unlike the student athletes, however, State can indeed profit from its use and the sale of those items in cooperation with vendors and manufacturers who pay them licensing fees. 
For the most part, Brett said, established businesses within Starkville and around the state are not the main offenders of unlicensed sales.
“The social media boom has complicated things,” Brett said. “Facebook is where a lot of this is going on.” 
According to Joan Lucas, General Counsel, MSU has sent at least 50-60 violation notices, including actual cease and desist letters and social media complaints on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
“ I think that most people who break the rules are simply unaware of the rules,” Lucas said. “We try to educate people on the rules through our C&D letters.  Once receiving the letter, most people are generally happy to comply with our trademark and licensing policies and help MSU comply with NCAA regulations.”
Mark Anthony runs University Screenprint, a business in Starkville that prints custom images onto apparel and other merchandise. According to Brett, Anthony has the same opinion as most who operate businesses in Starkville. 
“We are a team player and we want the university to do well,” Anthony, who is licensed to use MSU’s various logos but refuses to print player names or pictures, said. “We aren’t going to jeopardize anything.”
There is another issue accompanying MSU’s recent success that involves the NCAA, but it has less to do with T-shirts and more to do with professional drafts. According to Brett, the NCAA does not allow student athletes or their families to receive benefits, bribes or otherwise gain from signing on with a professional agent.  
“We can protect our players to an extent,” Brett said. “But you can’t know what these people are doing with a player’s uncle, or brother, or dad, or mom, wherever they live. The State of Mississippi has been a huge help, Delbert Hosemann, Secretary of State, got the Uniform Agent Act strengthened in our state.”
Agents now must be registered with the state, and must also notify the universities if they intend on contacting a player or any member of their family.