***All stories published in this week’s Gateway are satirical and should be treated as such. None of the stories printed are factual and do not represent the actual intentions, feelings, or actions of any of the people mentioned.***
Jackson Taylor
SPORTS EDITOR
In what the UNO Athletic department is calling an unfortunate but necessary course of action, an Omaha men’s basketball player was expelled and banned from setting foot on campus for wearing a Nike wristband during an off-season shoot-around.
The university currently is in a ten-year contract with Adidas, meaning all jerseys and equipment must carry the brand.
“With our partnership with Adidas, there’s simply no room for this sort of reckless behavior,” Athletic Director Trev Alberts said.
The player said he was disappointed in himself for wearing the wristband and understands why this action must be taken.
“I’ve had this problem for quite some time,” he said. “The Nike wristbands are just too comfortable and absorb sweat so well that I couldn’t help but wear it.”
The player was spotted shooting hoops in his driveway while wearing the wristband by a UNO Athletics intern this past week. The intern happened to be driving through the neighborhood when he noticed the infraction.
“This is just one of those things you can’t sweep under the rug,” the intern
said. “We’ve seen what happened to Peyton Manning — an allegation that resurfaces years down the road and destroys a reputation; it’s a risk we can’t take.”
In 2003, a former UNO soccer player was let off with a warning after he was caught sporting Puma soccer cleats in a pick-up game at Elmwood Park. Since the incident, Omaha Athletics has been cracking down.
“I hope this serves as a lesson to all of our athletes,” Alberts said. “If we don’t stop this kind of behavior, we could have our players drinking Powerade instead of our sponsor, Gatorade. It just could get out of hand.”
***All stories published in this week’s Gateway are satirical and should be treated as such. None of the stories printed are factual and do not represent the actual intentions, feelings, or actions of any of the people mentioned.***
