# Donald De La Haye
**Donald De La Haye** (born 1996), known online as **Deestroying**, is a Costa Rican-American professional football kicker and YouTube content creator whose loss of NCAA eligibility in 2017 made him an early national symbol of the debate over paying college athletes. He was a kickoff specialist and backup placekicker at the [University of Central Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-central-florida) (UCF) from 2015 to 2016, and was ruled ineligible after refusing NCAA conditions on his monetized YouTube channel. He later kicked for the [Toronto Argonauts](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-argonauts) of the [Canadian Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/canadian-football-league) and the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996, in Limon, Costa Rica; hometown Port St. Lucie, Florida[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/season/2016/player/donald-de-la-haye) • [2](https://theconwaybulletin.com/player/donald-de-la-haye/) |
| College career | UCF kickoff specialist 2015-16; 23 games, 106 kickoffs, one extra point (his only collegiate point)[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/season/2016/player/donald-de-la-haye) • [3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/donald-delahaye-1.html) |
| 2017 eligibility loss | Ruled ineligible on July 31, 2017 after refusing a waiver that barred monetizing videos referencing his athlete status or football ability[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/) |
| Lawsuit | *De La Haye v. Hitt* (2018) alleged UCF violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights; settled in late 2018[5](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/20/new-lawsuit-challenges-ncaa-rules-athlete-likeness) • [6](https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/ncaa-delivers-a-big-win-to-student-athletes/) |
## College football at UCF
De La Haye enrolled at UCF and joined the Knights football team in 2015 as a kickoff specialist. As a freshman he played 10 games, kicking off 33 times with 11 touchbacks and a 61.6-yard average, and recorded his first collegiate point on an extra point at [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati). In 2016 he played all 13 games, kicking off 73 times for 4,441 yards (a 60.8-yard average) with 37 touchbacks, and made three tackles.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/season/2016/player/donald-de-la-haye) He was a marketing major, and said he sent the money from his channel's advertising home to his family.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/)
## The 2017 eligibility dispute
De La Haye had started making YouTube videos before joining UCF's team, and his channel, Deestroying, grew into a monetized business featuring videos about football and his life as a student-athlete.[5](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/20/new-lawsuit-challenges-ncaa-rules-athlete-likeness) When UCF's compliance office learned the channel earned advertising money, school officials began what De La Haye described as a six-month investigation of his social media platforms.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/18/dillon-gabriel-donald-de-la-haye-nil-rights/)
The NCAA granted a waiver on July 14, 2017 under which De La Haye could keep his eligibility and monetize videos that did not reference his status as a student-athlete or depict his football skill, and could post athlete-related videos only on a non-monetized account. He refused those conditions, and UCF announced on July 31, 2017 that he had been ruled ineligible for NCAA competition.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/) The NCAA's own statement said that making a YouTube video, and even earning money from it, was not itself a rule violation, and pointed to bylaw 12.4.4, which lets an athlete run a business so long as his name, photograph, appearance, or athletics reputation is not used to promote it.[8](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ucf-kicker-ruled-ineligible-after-refusing-to-agree-to-terms-over-youtube-channel/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/)
He chose the channel over the roster. In a video posted the day of the announcement he called the decision "unbelievable" and said he no longer had the means to attend UCF once his scholarship was revoked, starting a fundraising campaign toward his $30,000 tuition goal.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/) The case drew national coverage as an example of NCAA amateurism rules colliding with social media income, and legal commentary cited it as a situation the NCAA's framework handled poorly.[9](https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jsel/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/2020/06/hls_11-2.pdf)
## Lawsuit against UCF
In 2018 De La Haye sued UCF, in a case styled *De La Haye v. Hitt*, alleging the university caused "irreparable harm" to his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments by suppressing his free speech and depriving him of due process. The Goldwater Institute, a conservative public-policy litigant, represented him in the case.[5](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/20/new-lawsuit-challenges-ncaa-rules-athlete-likeness) • [10](https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/case/defending-college-athletes-free-speech-rightsde-la-haye-v-hitt/)
The suit ended in a settlement and joint dismissal in late 2018. The settlement allowed De La Haye to seek readmission to UCF as a student, but not as an athlete.[6](https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/ncaa-delivers-a-big-win-to-student-athletes/)
## Professional career and Deestroying
He briefly signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2019, and later kicked for the [San Antonio Brahmas](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio-brahmas) of the UFL.
## Significance for athlete compensation
De La Haye's case predates the NIL era: NCAA athletes were not allowed to earn money from their name, image, and likeness until July 2021.[11](https://apnews.com/article/082366d40885e407e59b040efe03238f) Commentators later framed his treatment as an early instance of the rules the NIL regime and the $2.8 billion House settlement ultimately dismantled, which permit schools to pay athletes directly and allow third-party deals subject to review.[12](https://apnews.com/article/c155b06303fce4def9bca9f7efb2d03c) His case is regularly cited alongside other pre-NIL punishments, such as the denial of sponsorships to skier and football player [Jeremy Bloom](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-bloom), as examples of the amateurism rules that the later litigation and settlement replaced.[13](https://sportslitigationalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SLA-2024-8-9.pdf)
## References
1. [Donald De La Haye, Football 2016 roster, UCF Athletics](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/season/2016/player/donald-de-la-haye)
2. [Donald De La Haye, The Conway Bulletin](https://theconwaybulletin.com/player/donald-de-la-haye/)
3. [Donald Delahaye College Stats, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/donald-delahaye-1.html)
4. [UCF kicker wouldn't agree to NCAA's YouTube rules, so the school ruled him ineligible, The Washington Post (August 1, 2017)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/01/ucf-kicker-wouldnt-agree-to-ncaas-youtube-rules-so-the-school-ruled-him-ineligible/)
5. [New lawsuit challenges NCAA rules on athlete likeness, Inside Higher Ed (March 20, 2018)](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/20/new-lawsuit-challenges-ncaa-rules-athlete-likeness)
6. [NCAA Delivers a Big Win to Student-Athletes, Goldwater Institute](https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/ncaa-delivers-a-big-win-to-student-athletes/)
7. [At Central Florida, Dillon Gabriel capitalizes where Donald De La Haye never could, The Washington Post (August 18, 2021)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/18/dillon-gabriel-donald-de-la-haye-nil-rights/)
8. [UCF kicker ruled ineligible after refusing to agree to terms over YouTube channel, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ucf-kicker-ruled-ineligible-after-refusing-to-agree-to-terms-over-youtube-channel/)
9. [Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, Vol. 11 No. 2](https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jsel/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/2020/06/hls_11-2.pdf)
10. [Defending College Athletes' Free Speech Rights: De La Haye v. Hitt, Goldwater Institute](https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/case/defending-college-athletes-free-speech-rightsde-la-haye-v-hitt/)
11. [Kris Jenkins sues NCAA for money he could have made, AP News (April 8, 2025)](https://apnews.com/article/082366d40885e407e59b040efe03238f)
12. [Who gets paid? How much? What to know about the landmark NCAA settlement, AP News (May 24, 2024)](https://apnews.com/article/c155b06303fce4def9bca9f7efb2d03c)
13. [Sports Litigation Alert, Vol. 21 No. 8 (2024)](https://sportslitigationalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SLA-2024-8-9.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Placekickers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license