During halftime at a women’s basketball game on Sunday, Dec. 7, University student Robbie Panasuk, a junior English major, completed the $10,000 half-court challenge in less than 25 seconds, but was later denied the prize money by the Athletics Department due to having prior experience as a high school Varsity basketball player.
Panasuk unknowingly violated the participation contract that all contestants are required to sign prior to competing which stipulates the terms and conditions of the challenge. The contract states in section 9-D that the participant agrees to not being a, “Current or former high school basketball player or coach who has played or coached at that level anywhere in the world within the past five (5) years.”
Panasuk said that he hadn’t known about the condition upon signing the form prior to competing in the 25 second shoot-out. “I was not aware of the rule. I skimmed the contract, but they did say to read it,” Panasuk said. “I just assumed there was not going to be a rule that said I was not allowed to play any high school sports.”
According to regulations provided by the Monmouth University Athletics Department, the challenge gives a randomly selected participant 25 seconds to make four shots in sequence: a lay-up, a shot from behind the free throw line, a shot from behind the three-point line, and a shot from behind the half court line. This feat has never been completed prior to Sunday’s game, when Panasuk finished the challenge with just two seconds to spare.
After the challenge was completed, Panasuk was informed by the Athletics Department that he was not eligible to claim the prize due to his previous affiliation with his high school basketball team. “I’m not sure of their (Athletics representatives’) names, but they came down and told me I was ineligible due to the fact I had played Varsity basketball,” he said.
Eddy Occhipinti, Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing, spoke on behalf of Athletics concerning the ending contest result and Panasuk’s inability to claim the full $10,000. “The Athletics Department runs contests like this one throughout basketball season. The way it works is that a third party company gives us the requirements for participation that contestants are made aware of prior to the promotion. They must agree to the eligibility requirements and sign the contract prior to the promotion. If an individual does not meet these requirements, they cannot claim the advertised prize,” he said.
Around 5:30 pm, shortly after the game concluded and the decision had been given to Panasuk, news began circulating on the anonymous social media app, Yik Yak. The social media site was quickly flooded with gossip surrounding the contest, and many students voiced their frustration. One person yaked, “Our school can’t pay that kid $10,000 because they need that money to keep the flowers alive in the winter.” That yak received over 45 “ups.”
Shortly after the conversation jumped over to Yik Yak, a cell phone video filmed by Collin Stewart, a member of the men’s basketball team and a sophomore computer science major, made its way onto Facebook. Stewart posted, “Robbie Panasuk, you are a champion #10thousanddollarsricher.”
The video, which has received over 1,400 views as of Tuesday, Dec. 9, is flooded with comments including: “ESPY status,” “He won 10,000?!?!?” and “Damn, you rock, that was pretty awesome!”
Through the use of social media and word of mouth, individuals who had not attended the game were quickly made aware of the controversy surrounding Panasuk and University Athletics.
The response from the University community has since seemed to be overwhelmingly negative, and many students, like Rebecca Zidik, a senior communication major, were outraged. “I’m so upset they are not paying him,” Zidik said. “How many times have you ever heard that someone won that challenge? I think he should be praised; if the school picked him to do the challenge, then he should win the money. It’s bad PR for the school, to be honest.”
Despite the fact that Panasuk will not be able to receive the full prize amount, Athletics plans to give him a prize to commemorate the first time contest completion. “While it’s unfortunate that Sunday’s winner (Panasuk) doesn’t qualify under the eligibility requirements, we are going to give him a very valuable prize pack for such an outstanding performance at halftime of the women’s basketball game. We encourage everyone to attend our games and all students, who are eligible, to sign up for any contests that we run in the future,” Occhipinti said.
Since Sunday’s game, Athletics has been in contact with Panasuck regarding the consolation prize pack. “From what I heard Monmouth is trying their best to give me some type of prize which I appreciate very much. It may not be $10,000 but it’s cool for them to even consider doing so,” Panasuk said.
As for the entire topic, Panasuk said, “It’s definitely a letdown, but if the contract said I couldn’t play sports then that’s my fault for not seeing it.”
