Bloom Appeals Endorsement Ban

Attorneys for Jeremy Bloom, the University of Colorado football player and the third-ranked moguls skier in the world, on Monday filed an affidavit in the Colorado state Court of Appeals that may help him continue his dual sporting careers.

Bloom, 22, has been fighting the NCAA for two years over endorsement money from skiing equipment and clothing companies that would allow him to remain competitive on the international level as he continues to play football for the Buffaloes.

The NCAA maintains that its rules prohibit a student-athlete from accepting any endorsement money, even in a sport other than the one the athlete is playing in college.

In August 2002, a Colorado trial court in Boulder ruled that the NCAA had the right to interpret its rules any way it saw fit.

Bloom’s attorneys, led by Peter Rush of Chicago, have said that the endorsement money Bloom might receive is no different from that paid other college football players, such as Drew Henson at Michigan and Ricky Manning Jr. at UCLA, when they signed lucrative minor league baseball contracts.

NCAA rules allow athletes to accept salaries in a sport other than the one they play in college but do not allow athletes to accept endorsement money for any sport.

Bloom’s attorneys have appealed the original decision. Wednesday, at the University of Colorado law school here, a three-judge appellate court panel is scheduled to hear the appeal.

After refusing endorsements for two years, Bloom announced last month that he was accepting endorsement money. If the appellate court finds for the NCAA, Bloom’s football career probably is over.

Last Friday, Rush had a call from John Bechta, a La Jolla sports agent who represents several NFL players, including Tim Dwight of the San Diego Chargers. Bechta detailed Dwight’s 1999 fight with the NCAA over eligibility issues.

Dwight, who played football and ran track at the University of Iowa, returned to college after his rookie year with the Atlanta Falcons, planning to use his final year of track eligibility.

According to Bechta, after Dwight had competed in one meet, the NCAA ruled him ineligible because he had accepted more than $14,000 in endorsements related to his NFL career.

Bechta appealed to the NCAA and Dwight was declared eligible, provided he returned a small portion of the endorsement money from an autograph-signing session where Dwight wore his Iowa football gear.

Rush said that Dwight’s situation closely mirrored Bloom’s.

NCAA spokesman Jeff Howard said that there was no similarity. “In the case of Tim Dwight, the athlete ceased his promotional activity during his track season,” Howard said.