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College Football in 2020 in danger?


The_Great_Hornsby

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4 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

I think a major point is assumption of risk. If my only source of public water is the water from my sink and I am being told that water is fine then I have not assumed risk. (Dupont issue)

There is next to no way that anyone trying to attend a football game in the fall will not fully be made aware (cannot imagine many scenarios where they aren't already) of the risks they are taking on in attending. Even someone trying to claim it's all a hoax made up by liberals etc don't have a leg to stand on as they are clearly assuming the risk due to their lack of all rational thinking.

 

That's what litigation is for. To determine whether assumption of risk is going to be accepted by the courts as a defense in cases involving exposure to COVID 19. 

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18 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

Hypothetical....

Let's say the SEC is the only league that plays, and God forbid a kid dies.  Let's say that research shows that players in the SEC were more likely to get Covid than players at all the other conferences that decided to shut things down.  Y'all don't think there's an increased liability for the one conference that decided to go against the grain?

No I do not. Kids in this sport die. It happens. It's happened recently. It will happen again. The 'increased liability', in my opinion, has nothing to do with the players themselves, where the conferences, schools and staff are fairly well ready and covered. It's the geometric explosion of liability that occurs when even just one of those players spreads the disease around, and it's clearly traceable to that player contracting it at a game or practice. That could lead to dozens of people, who themselves could subsequently spread the disease to dozens (per individual) of others and so on. I know of no other potential legal case like that in history. But maybe some lawyers will chime in.

Edited by ouflak
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I think the real danger in not playing this year is how many guys lose their eligibility  or drop out of school and never return. I think there's a large percentage of guys who didn't go to play school and won't be disciplined enough to take online classes. This could possibly hit the sec the hardest so I fully expect them to at least start the season.

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Just now, David Dennison said:

That's what litigation is for. To determine whether assumption of risk is going to be accepted by the courts as a defense in cases involving exposure to COVID 19. 

Never did I say someone isn't welcome to litigate. I think Bob's post sums up why in all likelihood that won't be successful. No one will stop them from shopping their case.

But unlike tobacco lawsuits where Big Tobacco actively covered up issues related to tobacco and their work to in fact make it more addictive, there is none of that here. There is no "3 out of 4 doctors agree Camels are the best cigarettes" e.g.

Anyone who attends a college game in person I would imagine is already attending multiple other types of events (I have a hard time picturing someone who has been exceedingly cautious saying "a 25,000 person event will be my first foray into the CV19 world") and will be hard pressed to show that the game was THE definitive place they caught CV19 and they were unaware of the risks inherent in attending said game.

 

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3 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Never did I say someone isn't welcome to litigate. I think Bob's post sums up why in all likelihood that won't be successful. No one will stop them from shopping their case.

But unlike tobacco lawsuits where Big Tobacco actively covered up issues related to tobacco and their work to in fact make it more addictive, there is none of that here. There is no "3 out of 4 doctors agree Camels are the best cigarettes" e.g.

Anyone who attends a college game in person I would imagine is already attending multiple other types of events (I have a hard time picturing someone who has been exceedingly cautious saying "a 25,000 person event will be my first foray into the CV19 world") and will be hard pressed to show that the game was THE definitive place they caught CV19 and they were unaware of the risks inherent in attending said game.

 

You can almost hear defense attorneys salivating over the billable hours.

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4 minutes ago, Tony Two K said:

Go to Surly to distract myself while waiting on a Zoom hearing; have to read this shit. Smh

No kidding. I am a lawyer, and the exchanges on this page are snooze-inducing and mostly wrong. 

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10 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

That ended with a whimper..

 

Archie : All right, all right, I apologize.

Otto : You're really sorry.

Archie : I'm really really sorry, I apologize unreservedly.

Otto : You take it back.

Archie : I do, I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.

Otto : OK.

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12 hours ago, stork642 said:

This is all about optics for the Big 10.  They have somehow convinced themselves that any perceived risk is unacceptable in a sport that has tons of risk.  Of corse there are unknowns but we all have a higher risk of death from getting in our car everyday than Covid.  Perspective has been destroyed during this Covid mess.  Also, why is it ok for these same Big 10 schools to allow kids on campus.  How is it not a liability to the schools if one of the students dies?  Pure BS.  

It’s terribly ironic considering they had the Michigan St doctor sexually assaulting hundreds of young girls with the schools help after the Penn St incident. Or maybe that is why they are more sensitive to publicity now. 

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20 minutes ago, Js1 said:

The Brohm (Purdue) Spring 21/Fall 21 plan looks pretty good actually.  

Spring 21 runs 2/27-4/17 with 8 games

Fall 21 runs 10/2-12/11 with 10 games

 

 

 

While the plan seems logical and though out it just strikes me as another way to hurt recruiting by indicating your fall 2021 season won't be "normal" as well.

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5 hours ago, Don Johnson said:

That ended with a whimper..

 


Where is Tom Osbourne to sound off in a mic saying he’s not going to just stand around while the Michigan’s and Ohio States of the conference bully him around? 

Edited by Newy25
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10 hours ago, Bob Lives! said:

Ignore this crap about personal injury lawsuits from Covid. It isn’t happening. It comes from a place of ignorance and fear, or worse, insurance industry propaganda.

 

Lawsuits alleging negligent spread of Covid are few and far between. I know of one, and I’m sure it will not be successful. It will probably be dismissed and when it is, it won’t get 1/100th the headlines it got when it was filed. Only in the rarest of cases will these actually be viable lawsuits. You’ll need some special circumstances likely involving isolation of the infected prior to infection. I can think of a few cases that might be viable, such as a sleep-away summer camp or private boarding school that ignored warnings signs and did not take basic precautions, but even those cases will have steep hurdles most claims still can’t clear. Not only would you have to prove that a school or business breached their duty to limit the spread of the virus by exercising ordinary care, whatever that means in this instance, you also will have to prove proximate cause.

 

Proving proximate cause means proving you got Covid as a result of that breach of the duty to exercise ordinary care. And you’ll need medical evidence. How exactly are most people with Covid going to do that? How can they prove the exact place where they got Covid? Is football practice the only place they have been around any other person? Is the air they breathe at football practice the only air they’ve breathed? Obviously not. Show me a scientific way to prove where you got the Covid specifically, because that is exactly what you’re going to need. You are going to need to prove based upon a reasonable degree of medical probability that your Covid came from the school’s breach of proper Covid protocols. That night you fucked your girlfriend? That restaurant you went to? The grocery store you went to? When you went to visit your parents? When you stopped at a gas station? The time you picked up drive-thru? How do you know your Covid came from the school and not from any of that? How do you prove the link? You don’t.

 

Don’t believe me? Go do a Google search real quick for “Covid personal injury lawyer.” You will find lawyer websites in your search results, but what you won’t find is many lawyers looking to represent you for your Covid infection. You’ll find Lawyers looking for business interruption cases (business loss insurance claims). You’ll find defense firms looking to offer Covid advice. You’ll find personal injury law firms advising you that they are still open for business and are taking Covid precautions. You won’t find many lawyers looking to represent people who have Covid infections against places where they allegedly got infected. You will find zero on your first page of Google search results. I found one on page 3, if you can call it one at all. https://bernsteininjurylaw.com/blog/does-covid-19-constitute-a-personal-injury-claim/ It basically explains why you probably don’t have a case, as I just did above.

 

Now, go do a Google search real quick for “18 wheeler personal injury lawyer.” Take a look at how many hundreds of law firms are itching to take your injury cases. None will explain to you why you probably don’t have a case. All will explain to you that you should call them ASAP for a free consultation. There are over 150,000 supposed, potential wrongful death COVID infection cases out there for plaintiffs personal injury lawyers. Why don’t you think lawyers are out there advertising for them like they are for 18 wheeler injuries and deaths?

 

By the way, I’m not just saying this as some asshole on surly. I’m (also) saying this as a board certified personal injury lawyer who has personally recovered over $35 million for my clients in the last 10 years and has all the little awards like Super Lawyer, Top 100, etc. If you get Covid, don’t call me.

 

 

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Bob I’d totally agree random people going around suing for covid is going to be rare - especially by any reputable attorney.  I’d say college football with unpaid players and all the total disregard for distancing ‘could’ be different.  

Also medical professionals and facilities have already been protected in most states, if not all.

Anyways, Im sure you’re a great attorney but 35M recovered in 10 years is probably not top 10 on this site.  I say that tongue in cheek - kind of.   

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13 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Bob I’d totally agree random people going around suing for covid is going to be rare - especially by any reputable attorney.  I’d say college football with unpaid players and all the total disregard for distancing ‘could’ be different.  

Also medical professionals and facilities have already been protected in most states, if not all.

Anyways, Im sure you’re a great attorney but 35M recovered in 10 years is probably not top 10 on this site.  I say that tongue in cheek - kind of.   

If an attorney ever told me to ignore something that could potentially get me sued, I'd fire that attorney immediately. Attorneys are to explain how to do what management wants done, not to advise management on what to do or not to do.

Also, defending against even frivolous suits takes resources. No one can control whether suits are filed against them. The mindset has to be to undertake every reasonable precaution so that if a suit is filed, as many options as possible exist for limiting both litigation costs and damages.

There are going to be baseless "virus related" suits filed en masse. Factor that in from the start.

Edited by Randolph Duke
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2 minutes ago, Randolph Duke said:

If an attorney ever told me to ignore something that could potentially get me sued, I'd fire that attorney immediately. Attorneys are to explain how to do what management wants done, not to advise management. Also, defending against even frivolous suits takes resources. No one can control whether suits are filed against them. The mindset has to be to undertake every reasonable precaution so that if a suit is filed, as many options as possible exist for limiting both litigation costs and damages.

There are going to be baseless "virus related" suits filed en masse. Factor that in from the start.

Yes.  Agree.  Friends at MSP (FL obviously) have recovered billions and seem to think this would be an issue for college football.  But that’s the thing about damn good attorneys - they can make anything an issue.  Assholes 

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18 minutes ago, Randolph Duke said:

If an attorney ever told me to ignore something that could potentially get me sued, I'd fire that attorney immediately. Attorneys are to explain how to do what management wants done, not to advise management on what to do or not to do.

Also, defending against even frivolous suits takes resources. No one can control whether suits are filed against them. The mindset has to be to undertake every reasonable precaution so that if a suit is filed, as many options as possible exist for limiting both litigation costs and damages.

There are going to be baseless "virus related" suits filed en masse. Factor that in from the start.

This is kind of what I think is happening. It's not so much that there are going to be people who traceably contract it directly as the result of a football game being played, and that their class action suit is subsequently frivolous. It's how much are the PAC and Big Ten willing to pay deal with the potentially massive class actions due the domino effect infection rates of a highly contagious disease? If the number you calculate for a settlement/victory/case-thrown-out is larger than the amount of money you (by whatever means) calculate is less than what youare willing to lose by postponing the season, you play. Otherwise, you postpone.

Also, so far, no one has shown me a convincing precedent for a potential legal situation like this, where a few cases can astonishingly quickly expand to be a few dozen cases which can then expand even further, by the simply act of a few guys attending a party, playing in a game, and then seeing their family.

Edited by ouflak
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5 minutes ago, ouflak said:

This is kind of what I think is happening. It's not so much that there are going to be people who traceably contract it directly as the result of a football game being played, and that their class action suit is subsequently frivolous. It's how much are the PAC and Big Ten willing to pay deal with the potentially massive class actions due the domino effect infection rates of a highly contagious disease? If the number you calculate for a settlement/victory/case-thrown-out is larger than the amount of money you (by whatever means) calculate is less than what youare willing to lose by postponing the season, you play. Otherwise, you postpone.

Also, so far, no one has shown me a convincing precedent for a potential legal situation like this, where a few cases can astonishingly quickly expand to be a few dozen cases which can then expand even further, by the simply act of a few guys attending a party, playing in a game, and then seeing their family.

Yep - and you’re fine if you take reasonable precaution.  People tackling eachother is the least reasonable thing I’ve seen - if they’re doing that on their own or paid, fine.  If they’re doing that to lace someone else’s pockets, that entity better be ready to defend itself.  And this is almost word for word from someone who is one of those things we call attorneys.  

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18 minutes ago, ouflak said:

This is kind of what I think is happening. It's not so much that there are going to be people who traceably contract it directly as the result of a football game being played, and that their class action suit is subsequently frivolous. It's how much are the PAC and Big Ten willing to pay deal with the potentially massive class actions due the domino effect infection rates of a highly contagious disease? If the number you calculate for a settlement/victory/case-thrown-out is larger than the amount of money you (by whatever means) calculate is less than what youare willing to lose by postponing the season, you play. Otherwise, you postpone.

there is no limit to the wall of cowardice you can build with the phrase "well we don't want to get sued"

"we'd play, but we're afraid of lawsuits" will be the Big Ten's epitaph

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2 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

The places where football is going to happen would seem to also be places where a large judgment against State U’s athletic department are less likely.  Convincing 12 Alabamans that Roll Tide was wrong and needs to be punished feels like an uphill battle.

Unless they went to Auburn, then it's a slam dunk.

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1 hour ago, NoctambulantBrobdingnagian said:

Archie : All right, all right, I apologize.

Otto : You're really sorry.

Archie : I'm really really sorry, I apologize unreservedly.

Otto : You take it back.

Archie : I do, I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.

Otto : OK.

What was the middle thing?

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Quote

 

Is that you, govnuh?

"You can take all the Democratic candidates for President and all the Republican candidates for President. Put them in a sack and shake them up. Take the first one that falls out, grab him by the nape of the neck, and put him right back in the sack. Because there is not a dime's worth of difference in any of them."  

GEORGE WALLACE, CAMPAIGN SPEECH 1968

 

I really never heard that Wallace had said that.  I use that mostly when the local nimrods start arguing over deer rifles and cartridges because in the end, like Democratic candidates, loudmouthed ex Wolverine football players, or deer rifles, it really doesn't matter.  It's how you interact with any of the three.

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1 hour ago, Don Johnson said:

That ended with a whimper..

 

Well, Nebraska tried to jump the fence, but it was too high.  I guess we just keep looking for the time when part of the fence goes down to get out and see if the grass is greener then.  Props for Nebraska  in looking for a way to play football this year.

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38 minutes ago, SwanderedTalent said:

there is no limit to the wall of cowardice you can build with the phrase "well we don't want to get sued"

"we'd play, but we're afraid of lawsuits" will be the Big Ten's epitaph

Ok, but is it cowardice, or financial prudence? I'm not sure that their leadership is 'scared'. I just think they are behaving like executives looking out for the long term interests of their business, which any good executive should be doing. And, as someone very correctly pointed out earlier in the thread, it's one thing if these athletes are geting paid the big money. It's completely different for me to sit in an office all day and 'bravely' risk someobody else's life, and perhaps the lives of their friends and family, when they aren't making a dime, and I'm raking it in directly as a result of their efforts (and risk). Here on this message board we can argue, "that doesn't matter". But in those boardrooms with their legal teams, I'm sure it's been pointed out that that fact would be mentioned in front of a judge quite loudly and publicly in every one of the plethora of class action lawsuits that spring up when a traceable infection spike is linked directly to a football game or practice.

Edited by ouflak
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9 minutes ago, ouflak said:

Ok, but is it cowardice, or financial prudence? I'm not sure that their leadership is 'scared'. I just think they are behaving like executives looking out for the long term interests of their business, which any good executive should be doing.

I think this is about unionization for the B1G and PAC. I don't actually think it's about the virus at all. One only needs to read Barry Alvarez's comments yesterday to see that they're not particularly concerned about player well-being. They ARE looking out for their business interests. Period.

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