Report: EA Sports used Tim Tebow's name in 2010 video game
The 2010 version of EA Sports' NCAA football game reportedly named a play after Tim Tebow while the quarterback was still at Florida. It's the latest piece of evidence likely to be used against the NCAA in the Ed O'Bannon lawsuit.
By
Mike Singer
•
1 min read
Rarely is Tim Tebow overshadowed, but in this case everyone’s favorite backup free agent is merely a smaller piece of a potentially massive lawsuit against the NCAA.
Long story short: Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon is spearheading a lawsuit against the NCAA, EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company, alleging that the companies have profited immensely by using the likenesses of amateur athletes.
The EA Sports video game company has maintained that none of the players’ attributes, physical appearances, or renderings is based on actual college athletes.
That stance is infinitely more difficult to support, however, given the findings of one SBNation reader who recognized a certain left-handed QB’s name in the Florida Gators' playbook.
The play, called “Shotgun Twin QB Tebow,” was found in the 2010 version of EA Sports’ NCAA football game. Here's a screenshot of the play. That version of the game was released in the summer of 2009, which was also Tebow’s final year in Gainesville.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Or maybe it’s just one more piece of evidence in the mounting case against the NCAA and its partners.
Just last month, the NCAA’s chief legal officer, Donald Remy, said of the ongoing likeness suit, “While the NCAA is still reviewing this filing, it appears to be more of the same -- baseless theories supported only by inaccurate speculation aimed at destroying amateurism in college athletics.” He added, “Plaintiffs have failed to put forth any actual facts in support of their claims.”
Also last month, emails were made public that insinuated the NCAA was aware of EA Sports’ proclivity for using player likenesses but did nothing about it.
While the O’Bannon lawsuit has largely flown beneath the public radar, the fact that Tim Tebow is now involved should ensure a more-than-healthy amount of coverage for the case.
For more on the Ed O'Bannon lawsuit, follow Mike Singer on Twitter @RealMikeSinger.
