YouTube Rap Video Gets Teen's Football Scholarship Revoked
The Jay Harris Rule: If you've been accepted to college on a cushy football scholarship, a YouTube video full of weed-smoking and profanity might not be the best idea. Michigan State yanked the incoming freshman's football scholarship because of his online rap single, "Datbull 4 Life," reports a Yahoo! Sports blog.
Clearly, another wise choice: Harris, who was one of the top football recruits in his area, is skipping on college altogether to tailgate his lifelong dream as a rapper...
Harris, who's ranked by ESPN as Pennsylvania's 17th-ranked senior and second-best wideout, signed a binding letter of intent in February to attend Michigan State, reports The Inquirer.
A National Letter of Intent is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and the college/university. In exchange for one academic year of attendance, the school provides at least one year of financial aid.
Even after signing an NLI, the student is free to leave. However, the student might lose financial aid and might not be allowed to play for another school for a season.
That's not a problem for Harris since the scholarship was already taken away from him and he isn't joining another school.
But the video itself could spell some legal problems for him.
Under the name "Jay DatBull," the high school senior has uploaded nine videos to YouTube. Using explicit lyrics, Harris raps about drugs, women, and gay people, reports The Inquirer.
His first single, "DatBull 4 Life," surpassed 50,000 views over the weekend and appears to show Harris smoking marijuana while sitting behind the steering wheel of a car.
If Harris is haled into court on drug charges for marijuana possession or drugged driving, the rap video itself could be considered evidence. The clips of him that make it look like he's smoking weed in the driver's seat can potentially be used against him in court.
His career plan seems pretty solid.
To his credit, Harris has an album slated for a June 1 release. He also plans to work with professional producer M. Stacks this summer -- who boasts popular clients like Whiz Khalifa and Mac Miller.
Related Resources:
- Jay Harris Football Scholarship Reportedly Revoked By Michigan State After His Rap Videos Appear (The Huffington Post)
- 4 Alabama Football Players Arrested on Suspicion of Robbery (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
- 'Honey Badger' Tells NFL He Failed More Than 10 Drug Tests at LSU (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
- Michigan Marijuana Law: Sale of Pot Between Patients is Illegal (FindLaw's Decided)