🏈 clay travis up to his crap again - banned bama booster has bama gear business

[Max]

not linking his site just his article which made it up on fox s ports

http://msn.foxsports.com/college-fo...ster-now-has-bama-memorabilia-business-011614

 

[kudzu]

This article makes him sound really butthurt. Of course he doesn't say how the store acquired the items. I guess he's assuming. What a whinny beotch.

 

[CtrlAltDel]

This article makes him sound really butthurt. Of course he doesn't say how the store acquired the items. I guess he's assuming. What a whinny beotch.

Agreed.

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

Alabama responds to report involving memorabilia, Tide football players

There's more attention on a Tuscaloosa business owner selling Alabama football memorabilia. Photos published of current Alabama football players signing autographs in Tom Albetar's T-Town Gallery store in the University Mall led the university to respond Thursday evening.

"We are aware of the story produced today," Alabama athletics director Bill Battle said. "As part of our ongoing compliance efforts, our compliance department looks into everything that warrants concern. That effort is diligent and all-encompassing, and requires constant communication and education regarding all potential issues."

The first report came from Outkickthecoverage.com's Clay Travis. He listed several items Albetar sold involving signatures from current Alabama athletes and memorabilia he says is game-used. Selling autographs of student athletes does not threaten their eligibility unless the players sold the autographs themselves. No direct evidence of that was presented in Travis' story.

The main photo on Travis' story was of a display in the store with three jerseys belonging to recently graduated AJ McCarron and current players Amari Cooper and T.J. Yeldon. The same display was up Thursday evening, but the Cooper and Yeldon jerseys were swapped out for former players Mark Ingram and Courtney Upshaw.

Albetar could not be reached at his store Thursday evening. He told CBSSports.com that he got all his memorabilia from fans and athletes who visited after they graduated.

Albetar was disassociated from the program for three years in March 2011 after similar reports created negative publicity. A letter from then-athletics director Mal Moore to Albeter explained the definition of the disassociation.

"You shall refrain from obtaining any items of memorabilia from our student-athletes, including game-used equipment and apparel," the letter read in part. "You should also refrain from obtaining autographs from our student-athletes while they are in your store."

Photos on the T-Town Gallery Facebook page included current and recently graduated players signing items in the store. It would only be an NCAA violation for the player if they accepted money in return and no evidence of that was presented.

Albetar's disassociation letter also advised him the length of his disassociation with the school could be extended depending on his level of cooperation.

Back in 2011 when the first story surfaced involving Albetar, coach Nick Saban commented on ESPN Radio 103.3 in Dallas.

''You know, I guess I could ban our players from the place, but until somebody can sorta convince me that somebody is doing something wrong, which I haven't been convinced of yet, I don't know if that's fair to our players,'' Saban said in 2011.

 

[BamaFan334]

Damnit, this pisses me off. This dude hoards all of this great stuff and then ask ten times it's value while people like myself Nd many others of you would love to have it for a true collection. I have no doubt he's paying our guys for it. I hate to admit it, but the National Championship jersey #17 is a real jersey. You think he just stumbled across this? This guy needs to be taken down and kicked out of Tuscaloosa before the NCAA gets any wiser and audits this guy and our program. Obviously he is creepy, as is all of his employees. I used to go into his store to see if he had any legit stuff or if it was knock off like so many other dealers of Alabama stuff. Most was knockoff that was actually autographed, but this new website looks like legit memorabilia. He needs to be taken down and all of this stuff given out to is, .

 

[mrchase]

Add Content

 

[mrchase]

I'm not so sure that jersey is legit....could be wrong though

 

[TerryP]

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Banned #Bama booster Al-Betar says 'nothing to worry about' over report he's broken NCAA rules by selling memorabilia http://t.co/q61wXjJCi7
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerCBS) January 17, 2014​

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A disassociated Alabama booster says there's “nothing to worry about” over a report he has broken NCAA rules by selling memorabilia signed by top Crimson Tide players.

Tom Al-Betar told CBSSports.com on Thursday he obtains memorabilia from fans via the school's fan day and former players who visit his store after graduation.

“I have everything from the former players,” Al-Betar said.

Outkickthecoverage.com reported Al-Betar's new business, T-Town Gallery, is selling, among several items, autographed jerseys of current players T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper.

Photos from the Facebook page of Al-Betar's T-Town Menswear business in Tuscaloosa show several pictures of junior safety Vinnie Sunseri signing autographs in the store. The photos were posted Jan. 12.

An ESPN report surfaced the same day that Sunseri was declaring for the NFL Draft. The page also includes pictures of senior quarterback A.J. McCarron with girlfriend Katherine Webb.

Al-Betar, who received a disassociation letter from Alabama in March 2011 after displaying extensive Alabama football memorabilia in his T-Town store and taking pictures with players, said in a brief interview that fans from Alabama's Fan Day ”come in with stuff.”

“They don't belong to no football players,” Al-Betar said. “They sign it over there and they will come here. Most every year they do the same thing.”

When asked whether the volume of pictures suggests eligible players were involved, he said, ‘Hell No!” and asked what pictures CBSSports.com was referencing. He was directed to the contents of the
Outkickthecoverage.com post and the Facebook page.

“When people graduate they [sign],” Al-Betar said. “When they are in school nobody's in here.”

Al-Betar added, “This is ridiculous. There is nothing to worry about,” before wishing a good day and hanging up.

Alabama issued a statement from athletic director Bill Battle: “We are aware of the story produced today. As part of our ongoing compliance efforts, our compliance department looks into everything that warrants concern. That effort is diligent and all-encompassing, and requires constant communication and education regarding all potential issues.”

In 2011, Alabama ordered Al-Betar to “refrain from obtaining any items of memorabilia from our student-athletes while they are in your store.”

The numbers of items displayed in his store put student-athletes “at risk” with potential NCAA investigations or “sensationalized journalism,” according to Alabama's letter to Al-Betar.

College football memorabilia was a major storyline in August, when the NCAA investigated Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel in light of an ESPN report he signed thousands of autographs for brokers. Manziel missed a half-game as a result.
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[Old Timer from TX]

The NCAA really needs to crack down on people like this Alabama booster.

 

[elephantman]

I have no doubt he's paying our guys for it.

If you're referring to former players then maybe some truth there, but from what I've read so far, this shop owner is also paying for the signed items from fans. Oh well, I have to trust that Bill Battle has always been on top of situation.

 

[UAgrad93]

I went in there on our return from NOLA after the Sugar Bowl and I'll be honest. IT GAVE ME AN UNEASY FEELING!!! I did see some signs throughout that said, "Some items not for sale, display only". My guess was, he was using these signs to skirt around the letter from UA. I felt like I needed a bath after walking out.

 

[TerryP]

The NCAA really needs to crack down on people like this Alabama booster.

And how do you suggest they do so? As much dislike is felt for people of his ilk, there's no way a school or governing body (like the NCAA) can make a ruling against free enterprise.

 

[TerryP]

I went in there on our return from NOLA after the Sugar Bowl and I'll be honest. IT GAVE ME AN UNEASY FEELING!!! I did see some signs throughout that said, "Some items not for sale, display only". My guess was, he was using these signs to skirt around the letter from UA. I felt like I needed a bath after walking out.

Or, maybe they aren't for sell?

Without proof he's selling items from current players, his insistence he's within the letter of the disassociation notice has to be taken as the truth.

As rabid as some fans are, I suspect someone has tried with the intent of turning around and telling the compliance department they were able to purchase an item. There's always a want to be sleuth running around...

 

[UAgrad93]

You're right [MENTION=12209]TerryP[/MENTION], he could be telling the truth and staying within the boundaries of the disassociation letter. I just got an uneasy feeling seeing price tags on some of the memorabilia with current players in there. Hopefully, the guy bought it from someone else from fan day and is selling it "secondhand".

 

[TerryP]

You're right <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> @TerryP <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->, he could be telling the truth and staying within the boundaries of the disassociation letter. I just got an uneasy feeling seeing price tags on some of the memorabilia with current players in there. Hopefully, the guy bought it from someone else from fan day and is selling it "secondhand".

I don't trust Tom. Period. He claims that's where he's getting the jersey's, etc. That's feasible. I've sold memorabilia to local shops on more than one occasion. I've never sold any Alabama merchandise, but numerous times I've run across something, bought it, and turned around and sold it to a local shop.

I think it's worth noting Clay doesn't mention where Tom is getting his stuff yet Jeremy Fowler went to the point of asking.

 

[BamaFan334]

That's a very serious indictment of the Bama players. Since you're so sure then it should eventually be known by you know who, and then the entire program hit with major sanctions, and/or several players declared ineligible. But totally unfounded and irresponsible statement to make....imo.

Oh, so you think Yeldon and Cooper did it out of the goodness of their hearts? Oh hey, let's sign over 100 items and let this guy knowingly make a profit off of us. This wasn't a ten year old boy or girl they were signing for, so doing it for the children is not an excuse here. Come on man, take the blinders off and realize this kind of crap happens at every university in the country. I'm a big Alabama fan just like everyone on this blog, but I am also not stupid. I do not want us to get in trouble, especially because of this sleezeball. Have I seen money change hands? No, I have not. Is the evidence pretty good that some kind of compensation was presented, yes. Before you go accusing me of making irresponsible remarks, how about you take off the blinders and be a realist instead of living in the clouds, analyze the evidence and then I'm betting you'll be right in line with my thoughts on this one.

 

[sean]

I don't trust Tom. Period. He claims that's where he's getting the jersey's, etc. That's feasible. I've sold memorabilia to local shops on more than one occasion. I've never sold any Alabama merchandise, but numerous times I've run across something, bought it, and turned around and sold it to a local shop.

I think it's worth noting Clay doesn't mention where Tom is getting his stuff yet Jeremy Fowler went to the point of asking.

that just goes to show you that clay only deals in half-truths and is only worried about the part that will get him more callers/listeners to his show.

 

[BamaFan334]

I'm not so sure that jersey is legit....could be wrong though

Take a very close look at the Nike articles and pictures released about the first time the Pro Combats were actually used for the National Championship game last year. They were specific jerseys made for that game, and were replicated for teams like Oregon this year. One spot to look is the vented looking spots by the front shoulder area, you'll see a triangle shaped cutout where they put a screened fabric to allow for better breathing. Look at the jersey on that site of dipshit's and you'll notice the same vents. When knockoffs are made, they are not to this quality, they are the older screened fabric and larger stitching than Nike would use, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about if you look closer. eBay is a perfect example of knockoff jerseys people take to fan day and get signed, and turn around and put them on eBay for $300 and up. I almost feel like a tool knowing this much about jerseys and such, but when you're attempting to create a collection of game used stuff and autographs to hand down to your son one day, you do your research and pick up on these things. Hope this helps.

 

[TerryP]

Oh, so you think Yeldon and Cooper did it out of the goodness of their hearts? Oh hey, let's sign over 100 items and let this guy knowingly make a profit off of us. This wasn't a ten year old boy or girl they were signing for, so doing it for the children is not an excuse here. Come on man, take the blinders off and realize this kind of crap happens at every university in the country. I'm a big Alabama fan just like everyone on this blog, but I am also not stupid. I do not want us to get in trouble, especially because of this sleezeball. Have I seen money change hands? No, I have not. Is the evidence pretty good that some kind of compensation was presented, yes. Before you go accusing me of making irresponsible remarks, how about you take off the blinders and be a realist instead of living in the clouds, analyze the evidence and then I'm betting you'll be right in line with my thoughts on this one.

Where are you pulling there's over 100 items for sale from Yeldon or Cooper?

 

[BamaFan334]

I went in there on our return from NOLA after the Sugar Bowl and I'll be honest. IT GAVE ME AN UNEASY FEELING!!! I did see some signs throughout that said, "Some items not for sale, display only". My guess was, he was using these signs to skirt around the letter from UA. I felt like I needed a bath after walking out.

After finding out about the guy, my wife refuses to go by his shop. She wouldn't even pass it on that side of the mall when we lived there because he came across as such a slimeball to her when we were in there one day, not to mention his staff looks like people he just pulled out of the sewer along with himself. I totally understand that uneasy feeling, because I got it as well when I visited, but I was more or less looking at it continuously to see if in fact it was real stuff or not. Kind of like my own little personal reconnaissance mission.