Kirk Herbstreit is the Duke brothers from ‘Trading Places’

Kirk Herbstreit, one of ESPN’s most recognizable faces when it comes to coverage of college football, was recently interviewed by SEC Country and the conversation turned toward the defunct EA Sports NCAA Football game.

In 1983, a film starring Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy named “Trading Places” featured a couple of antagonists known in the film as the Duke Brothers. Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) Duke are Wall Street tycoons, out of touch with the reality of the common man and indifferent to any pain they might cause others in the interest of maintaining their wealth.

Herbstreit’s comments were ignorant of the reality lived by the average college football player, just as the Duke’s treatment of their employees in “Trading Places” demonstrated a nature of being oblivious.

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Herbstreit’s ignorance of the situation begins with false accusations. Ed O’Bannon did not take the game away. There were lawsuits brought against Electronic Arts and the NCAA over this same issue long before the O’Bannon case, and the litigation in the O’Bannon case wasn’t over current players’ likenesses, but former players. EA agreed to discontinue manufacture of the game as part of an agreement between the video game manufacturer and the plaintiffs.

Herbstreit’s most ignorant comments surfaced when he said that he’d “never met one player in college football that’s like: ‘They can’t use my name and likeness! I need to be paid!’ They’re just thrilled to be on the game. They love being on the game. It’s like the biggest highlight of their life, is to be on the game.”

During my time as a student at the University of Iowa, I was in classes with several football players. Every one I talked to said exactly what Herbstreit claimed no college football player would ever say.

There might be some players who echoed Herbstreit’s sentiments. However, it’s hard to imagine any players turning down compensation for the use of their likenesses. I’m not sure I would ever come across an 18-21 year old student who would be like, “oh no, I don’t want money, just give me a copy of the game or something.”

That’s where Herbstreit is at his most Duke-brothers-ish. Herbstreit’s voice was featured in the game’s embedded commentary for the last 12 editions of the game. I seriously doubt his only compensation for that usage of his likeness was a free copy of the game each year.

As I read the interview, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a scene near the end of “Trading Places” when the greed of the Dukes catches up with them. I picture Herbstreit in the EA factory which produces the games, screaming, “turn those machines back on!”

Next: Hawkeyes vs. Rutgers: Game Preview

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