Kingsford Charcoal Bags Feature Ed O'Bannon, Draw Attention To Case Against NCAA

Kingsford Charcoal on Thursday "unveiled special-edition bags of charcoal trolling the NCAA," featuring an image of former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, according to Jeff Eisenberg of YAHOO SPORTS. O'Bannon, who last August "won a lawsuit challenging the NCAA's unwillingness to pay athletes for the use of their names and likenesses," is depicted on the front of the bag, along with the hashtag #PayEd and the slogan, "Lights 25% faster. Doesn't burn athletes." Kingsford is "going to pay" O’Bannon for placing him on the front of the limited bags of charcoal. One way in which Kingsford "intends to compensate O'Bannon is through its #PayEd hashtag." For every tweet that includes that hashtag, Kingsford "will pay O'Bannon $1, up to $25,000."  Any money O'Bannon receives "is probably secondary to the publicity both he and Kingsford could get." For O'Bannon, the "unusual charcoal bags shine a spotlight on his cause" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/27).