Came across this meme today.
I'm going to be very clear in my defense of the Big 10.
Name any business in America, any business. A manger has to be prepared for a Best Case Scenario, a Worst Case Scenario, and a Most Probable Scenario.
In the NFL, the business model is very simple. Players ply their trade for large paychecks.
In Division I college football though, players are not paid to play, they basically operate on the barter system. They trade their football services for scholarships. Now with this understanding, the pandemic this fall can go in a certain number of ways.
The Best Case Scenario: No college football players get coronavirus. Probability? Almost zero.
The Most Probable Scenario: A few college football players get coronavirus, college football gets some bad PR, and a couple of players get sick enough to be briefly hospitalized. They sue and get monetary settlements. The schools collectively make MUCH more money than they have to pay out in medical claims.
The Worst Case Scenario: At least 1 college football players dies and dozens are hospitalized. Remember, do overweight individuals plays football? Yes. Are the overweight a risk group? Sure are. What if one game was responsible for multiple deaths and long-term hospitalization, the repercussions could be as severe as a school closing down or a conference dissolving. Probability?
Ahhhhh. That's the question isn't it. Let's say Big 10 Presidents were sitting in a room and they asked the lawyers, "what are the chances of a Worst Case Scenario?" Then the lawyers answered "maybe, 5%." In a litigious society, where if the worst case scenario plays out everyone is fired, sued, and scorned, the Big 10 did not like the risk, even though the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor.
The gamblers in the SEC asked the lawyers "what are the chances of a Worst Case Scenario?" The laywers answered "maybe, 5%."
"YEEHAW, we's like dem odds. Let's play some ball and make some $$$$$."
seems legit.