This piece originally appeared on the Huffington Post

It is football season again and fans in communities across the country are turning out for high school games. They are probably wearing sweatshirts, t-shirts and other gear to cheer their local team. Unfortunately, if those fans bought their clothing from their local Walmart store, their team is not getting any financial support, and that means that the games may be numbered.

We recently received reports from all over the country about Walmart selling high school logo sportswear without the schools’ permission and without donating any of the profits. As a result, fundraising efforts are undercut and already thin school athletic budgets are stretched even further as local residents buy cheaper versions at Walmart.

The practice has likely been ongoing for years, but current economic problems and shrinking school budgets may be the catalyst for some schools to take a closer look at how Walmart’s effort puts a dent in their local programs.

It started on September 4, when KXLY-4 News out of Washington state reported that a local Wal-Mart was selling Cheney High School athletic gear without permission, and without donating any of the profits.

Several days later, the Kingsport Times-News reported that Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee has repeatedly complained to Walmart about the practice and the school attorney has sent cease-and-desist letters. Then, last Friday - the Cheney Free Press reported that a host of schools in the Washington state area have been complaining about the same problem.

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Over the past two weeks, we’ve been keeping you updated on Wal-Mart;s continued assault on high school sports programs by selling logo school gear without the permission of the school, and without donating any of the profits.

So far, we’ve read news reports of high schools in Washington, Wisconsin and Tennessee that have spoken out about the practice. We sent out an email to supporters last week and heard back from dozens who identified Wal-Marts across the country that are selling high school gear. More reports are sure to come in, and you can bet we’ll be keeping track.

In case you missed it, here’s a little recap:

We first heard about this on September 4, when KXLY-4 News in Washington state broke the story about Cheney High School losing much needed profits because Wal-Mart was selling clothes with their logo on them.  Wal-Mart refused to donate any of the profits back to the school. 

On September 10, an article from the Kingsport Times-News reported a similar story about Wal-Mart doing the same thing to Science High School in Johnson City, Tennessee - and that its been going on for several years, despite complaints.

Two days later, on September 12, the Cheney Free Press reported that this had been happening in a host of Washington schools, including Medical Lake High School. Reporter Paul Delaney actually got the first response we’ve seen out of Wal-Mart, who defended the practice and claimed that all legal requirements to sell the gear are met.

Then yesterday, NBC-26 from Green Bay revealed that yet another High School was reporting the same problem.  They explain:

“Students at Kimberly High School work hard to sell t-shirts and other gear. All proceeds directly help fund school programs like marketing. “The apparel is probably the biggest money maker here at this store,” says Senior Joey Moser. The student shop managers, though, were surprised to learn that other stores like Walmart and Pick ‘n Save also sell their gear. Moser says, “We don’t get any of that money."”

It’s questionable whether Wal-Mart has the legal right to sell the gear without permission, there’s no question that it’s unethical. Wal-Mart is the biggest company in the world, run by the richest family in the country, and constantly bills itself as a “store of the community”.  There’s no excuse for undercutting local schools, and keeping the profits for itself.

The bottom line is that Wal-Mart is taking a huge chunk out of school budgets, and jeopardizing the future of local sports programs.

We’ll keep you updated. 

Apparently, what’s happening at Cheney and Science Hill High Schools is not an isolated incident.

This weekend, more reports have come in about Wal-Mart undercutting high school athletics programs by selling school logo clothing without permission and refusing to donate any portion of the proceeds to the school. 

The Cheney Free Press looks at more schools around Washington state, and finds the exact same problem occurring.

Reporter Paul Delaney quotes several upset school officials, and after pressing Bentonville, has published the first response yet out of Wal-Mart: “We want as many students as possible to be able to show their school spirit,” and “All permissions and approvals required for logo apparel are met.”

How kind. I’m thinking maybe that the high schools should come up with some clever slogans and start selling their own Wal-Mart merchandise. Wal-Mart lawyers wouldn’t have any problem with that, right?

Wal-Mart vs. area schools [Cheney Free Press (Wash.)]:

Medical Lake athletics director Chris Spring was just a little surprised recently when one of the high school’s secretaries, Lynae Strieb, walked into his office with a pair of plaid pajama pants embroidered with the Cardinal logo.

“Who ordered those?” Spring asked. Strieb replied that nobody ordered the garment and that she found them - along with other items featuring logos from both her school, as well as those of Cheney High - at the Airway Heights Wal-Mart.

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In a story posted today from KXLY.com in Spokane, Washington, it seems that Wal-Mart has found a new market, in undercutting a local high-school. A Wal-Mart store in Cheney, Washington has begun selling shirts that bear the logo of the Cheney Blackhawks, the town’s high-school sports team. Wal-Mart does not pay the school royalties for using the logo, nor do they have permission from the school to sell the shirts and this is bad news according to the school’s Activities Director, Jim Missel who had this to say:

“They can buy their stuff at a larger quantity and be able to sell it at a cheaper price.  It hurts us when this happens.”

Cheney High School uses revenues from their own apparel sales to fund school activities and athletic programs, and without that revenue, it becomes increasingly harder to finance such programs. Missel says he doesn’t want to start a war with Wal-Mart, but would likely appreciate some consideration for the situation. Wal-Mart told a journalist from KXLY that the company “tries to give customers what they want at a good price, while still being a good neighbor”.

The ironic thing is that by selling shirts with the Blackhawks logo on them, they are lessening the chance that Blackhawks athletic programs will even continue to exist.  If anyone out there knows of this kind of thing happening in their town, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section.

Is Wal-Mart undercutting local athletic programs?

CHENEY - The start of the 2008 football season hits Thursday night, but if you’re looking to get into school spirit there’s at least one team on the West Plains that hopes you consider where you buy your gear from.

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