by worldwin » August 15th, 2007, 12:29 pm
This practice has actually been going on for many years, and in many sports.
Baseball players in the past have been know to cut off labels of gloves so that the company that they are signed with doesn't see them using a different brand.
Football players were also notorious for this type of thing. I remember seeing players wrap their shoes and ankles with tape (for medical as well as cosmetic reasons) and then take a Sharpie and draw a brand's logo on the tape. While in fact they were actually wearing a different brand under the wrap.
I even remember one NFL player back in the 80's or earlier who tried to "double dip" on the shoe contract thing by wearing one brand on one foot, and a different brand on the other. As you can imagine the NFL didn't put up with that!
I recently picked up a Mizuno Pro Limited gamer that had the label cut off, presumably by the player, since I have found photos online of the player using the glove in games without the label on it!