The Univ. of Florida yesterday said that a sports calendar featuring Aaron Hernandez was "approved before the former UF tight end was charged with killing three men," according to Kevin Brockway of the GAINESVILLE SUN. Hernandez in the calendar is shown "in his Florida uniform for the month of July." UF Assistant Dir for Football Communications Dan Apple said that the calendar "was approved in the spring of 2013," prior to Hernandez being charged for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Apple said, "When we became aware of the issue, we can tell them it’s no longer approved but contractually we are not in a position to have it pulled. We have informed the licensee that it’s no longer approved.” He added that he does not "anticipate any other products bearing Hernandez' likeness at UF hitting the shelves in the future" (GAINESVILLE.com, 7/1). Apple said that the calendar "was not produced by the university, but a third party." Apple: "There are thousands of Gators products for approval in the pipeline at any given moment." He noted that the school "just became aware of the situation on Monday" (AP, 7/1). The calendar is available at retailers and online and features other former UF players such as Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and Percy Harvin. The remaining inventory is "expected to be depleted" (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 7/1).
BAD PR MOVE: ESPN's Danny Kanell called the presence of Hernandez on the calendar a "disastrous PR move" and said, "I know there was a licensing agreement in place earlier where they agreed on it in 2013 before Aaron Hernandez was arrested, but there is no way you can't let this go on." Kanell: "You've to do everything in your power if you're the Univ. of Florida to get this calendar off the shelves. It's a horrendous look." ESPN's Joe Schad said, "Obviously, the Univ. of Florida would prefer that a calendar for this year not include Aaron Hernandez, but you can't blame them. All they did was license the product. I mean, go to the distributor, go to the stores. If I was the owner of a store, I would send the calendars back to the distributor or mark them down." ESPN's Robert Smith said the athletic department has a "responsibility to uphold the image of the school." Smith: "You have to do whatever you can to get that pulled. It is just terrible PR" ("College Football Live," ESPNU, 7/1).
