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Donald De La Haye

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Donald De La Haye
refer to caption
De La Haye with the Argonauts in 2019
No. 19 – San Antonio Brahmas
Position:Kicker
Personal information
Born: (1996-12-02) December 2, 1996 (age 27)
Limón, Costa Rica
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school:Port St. Lucie (FL)
College:UCF (2015–2016)
Career history
As a player:
As an administrator:
Roster status:Active
Career UFL statistics as of Week 2, 2024
Field goals made:0
Field goal attempts:0
Field goal %:0.0
Points scored:0
Longest field goal:0
Touchbacks:0
Tackles:1
Player stats at CFL.ca
Deestroying
YouTube information
Also known asDeestroying
ChannelsDeestroying
Years active2015–present
Genres
Subscribers5.98 million (Deestroying)
Last updated: August 1st, 2024

Donald De La Haye (born December 2, 1996), also known online as Deestroying, is a Costa Rican-American YouTuber and professional American football kicker for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at the University of Central Florida (UCF). De La Haye is known for his videos demonstrating his kicking ability as well as his sports-related skits and vlogs talking about his life journey. He initially came into public attention while in college when the NCAA controversially banned him for profiting off his name and YouTube videos, which sparked reform for student athlete compensation.[1]

Early life and college career

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De La Haye traveled with his family from Costa Rica to the United States at the age of seven, spending the rest of his youth in Port St. Lucie, Florida.[2] He played for the football team at the University of Central Florida as their kickoff specialist and holder from 2015 to 2016. He was backup placekicker behind Matthew Wright and De La Haye also played some wide receiver. De La Haye was a marketing major at UCF.[3][4]

Loss of NCAA eligibility over YouTube channel

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In 2017, De La Haye drew attention when the NCAA told him to delete or demonetize his YouTube channel in order to stay on the football team, as the NCAA at that time forbid its athletes from profiting off their athletic ability aside from their scholarships. He was also not allowed to have his likeness or name in any of his videos if he decided to continue the channel. Faced with this dilemma, De La Haye ultimately chose to continue his channel normally, at the cost of his scholarship and NCAA eligibility.[4][5][6] De La Haye sued UCF over this matter in July 2018, settling in November 2018 to finish his education there. Since then, he has made amends with UCF, attending multiple games with on-field passes and posting footage of himself at games. Additionally, coach Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff have invited him to multiple football-related events.[7][2][8]

De La Haye's case has been one of several major incidents in which NCAA athletes are barred from profiting off their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) and allowing student athlete compensation. Legislation has since been issued in a few states, including California and De La Haye's home state of Florida, in an attempt to allow student athletes to profit while in school.[9][1]

YouTube career

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While removed from the active UCF football team roster, De La Haye put more focus on his Deestroying YouTube channel, which he started as a teenager in 2015. Evolving from skits on football stereotypes and kicker trick shot videos, the channel has also featured gaming videos, skits impersonating National Football League players such as Odell Beckham Jr., Tom Brady and JuJu Smith-Schuster, actual collaborations with players such as Smith-Schuster, Marquette King, Cam Newton, Antonio Brown, and Tyreek Hill and partnerships with the NFL and other sports organizations to create content. The channel has since surpassed 5.8 million subscribers after having just 94,000 when De La Haye left UCF.[10]

De La Haye has also collaborated with other YouTube personalities such as Logan Paul, competing in the latter's "Challenger Games" in July 2019.[11]

Professional football career

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Toronto Argonauts

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After years of advocating for an NFL team to sign him through his videos, De La Haye was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League on May 19, 2019.[12][13] The signing resulted in over 15,000 new followers on the Argonauts' official Instagram account.[14] He appeared in both preseason games, making his one field goal attempt from a distance of 16 yards, and recording one punt for 46 yards. De La Haye was signed to the practice roster to begin the season.[15][14] Due to limits on American players allowed on the roster, the Argonauts later placed De La Haye on the Suspended list in order to allow him to be free of team obligations and continue to upload videos consistently, which, according to De La Haye, generated more income than being on the practice squad.[16][17]

De La Haye continued making YouTube videos that display him practicing kicks, in the ultimate goal of making the NFL. In 2021, De La Haye posted a video in which he got invited to work out for the NFL Scouting Combine. De La Haye also won the Kohls Pro Combine kickoff competition in 2021.[18]

San Antonio Brahmas

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On January 30, 2024, De La Haye was signed by the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League,[19] replacing John Parker Romo, who had declined to return to the Brahmas after a successful 2023 season.[20] De La Haye faced an open competition with Matt Ammendola for the position.[21] On March 10, 2024, the Brahmas released Ammendola, designating De La Haye as their starting kicker for the 2024 season.[22]

De La Haye led the UFL in kickoff yardage in his opening week of play.[21] He was effectively a kickoff specialist for his first two games of the season, as the Brahmas did not attempt any field goals in those games and the league does not allow kicking for extra points.[23] He was placed on injured reserve on April 8, 2024, following multiple neck fractures he sustained making a tackle on a kickoff return.[24][25]

Esports career

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In April 2022, De La Haye signed with FaZe Clan.[26] He played in a flag football game with FaZe Clan in the 2022 Pro Bowl.

Other ventures

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De La Haye was also a co-owner of the FCF Glacier Boyz of Fan Controlled Football, along with Quavo, Richard Sherman, and Adin Ross.

References

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  1. ^ a b "UCF kicker Donald De La Haye invoked as DeSantis backs college athletes getting paid". orlandosentinel.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Henneke, Robert; Riches, Jon (November 16, 2018). "Attorneys: UCF's De La Haye settles for a bright future off the field". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Donald Delahaye Bio". UCFKnights.com. Retrieved May 27, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b ""A college football player has a hit YouTube channel. He might have to give it up to remain eligible." (June 12, 2017). USA Today". June 12, 2017. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Deestroying (July 31, 2017). I lost my full D1 scholarship because of my YouTube Channel. YouTube. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  6. ^ ""Ex-college football player Donald De La Haye signs with Whistle Sports" (Aug 18, 2017). CNBC". CNBC. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Kirshner, Alex (July 13, 2018). "How the YouTube kicker's lawsuit challenges the NCAA". SB Nation. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  8. ^ De La Haye v. Hitt, 6:18-cv-0135 (M.D. Fla. 2018).
  9. ^ "NCAA to consider allowing athletes to profit from names". SI.com. May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019. Last year, a kicker at UCF gave up his scholarship rather than stop making money off his profitable YouTube channel, which threatened to make him ineligible.
  10. ^ James Loke Hale (January 31, 2019). "YouTube Millionaires: NFL Hopeful Donald De La Haye Was Forced To Choose Between YouTube And Football — But Now He Aims For Both". www.tubefilter.com. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  11. ^ Leskin, Paige (July 19, 2019). "Logan Paul is holding a race on Saturday to find the fastest YouTuber, and the winner gets $100,000. Here's who is competing". Business Insider. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Argos add five to training camp roster". Toronto Argonauts. May 19, 2019. Archived from the original on May 19, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  13. ^ Deestroying (May 22, 2019). I GOT SIGNED TO A PRO FOOTBALL TEAM YESTERDAY. YouTube. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Beede, Jason (June 25, 2019). "Ex-UCF kicker Donald De La Haye has no regrets after choosing YouTube over Knights, earns spot in CFL". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "Toronto Argonauts announce final roster cuts ahead of deadline". Tip of the Tower. June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  16. ^ "Transactions". CFL.ca. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  17. ^ Deestroying (July 22, 2019). THE TRUTH ABOUT MY PRO FOOTBALL CAREER.. (WHY I'M NOT PLAYING). YouTube. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  18. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: I GOT INVITED TO TRAIN FOR THE NFL COMBINE.. (NFL COACHES GIVE ME ADVICE). YouTube.
  19. ^ Larsen, James (January 30, 2024). "Youtube Star Kicker Deestroying Signs To San Antonio Brahmas". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  20. ^ Nelson, Mark (December 28, 2023). "XFL San Antonio Brahmas kicker Parker Romo does not plan to return for the 2024 season". UFL News and Discussion. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Waters, Andres (April 3, 2024). "How a kicker went from UCF to YouTube to the UFL: Deestroying is chasing his dreams". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  22. ^ Larsen, James (March 12, 2024). "Deestroying Comments On Earning A Starting Role With Brahmas". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  23. ^ Fernandez, Lance (April 6, 2024). "Cam Newton raises questions at Deestroying's debut UFL game with Brahmas: "Where's the field goals?"". Sportskeeda. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  24. ^ "Brahmas K 'Deestroying' (neck) out for season". Yardbarker. April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  25. ^ "UFL Transactions". UFL News and Discussion. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  26. ^ "Deestroying joins FaZe Clan to "take the sports world by storm"". tubefilter.com. April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
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