Should The SEC Adopt A Mandatory Football Injury Report Policy?

What will Greg Sankey and the SEC do?

Jul 19, 2023; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks at the podium during SEC Media Day at the Grand Hyatt. / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

What do Auburn fans think of SEC Commisioner Greg Sankey holding discussions about the league making it mandatory for schools to list injury reports?

“We are going to have a discussion about student-athlete availability reporting,” Sankey said about the SEC spring meetings. Notice how he steered away from using the words injury report. It’s probably safe to say that did not happen accidentally. 

Why? Because those are the words most often tied to a word people either love or hate. Gambling. Like it or not, sports gambling is a cash cow that even ESPN directly promotes and profits from now. Oh, ESPN also happens to own the SEC Network. Coincidence that this is happening after ESPN’s sports betting site is in full swing? Talk about leverage over what Sankey and the SEC decide to do.

The rhetorical question aside, here are a few more that may hit home closer to Auburn fans, plus an overarching question about impending lawsuits just waiting to happen.

Would Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze be completely honest about injury reports? Hard to blame Freeze – or any other coach – for lying when it gives the opposition an edge; that’s especially true if it’s quarterback news; similar for a star player at any position.

How about your thoughts regarding Freeze honestly providing the information the gambling industry wants? Do you support Freeze if he did indeed provide that information? Why or why not?

Finally, with Name, Image, and Likeness one of the biggest topics in college athletics, how long before one or more college football players sue sports books like ESPN, BetMGM, Circa, Golden Nugget, and more.

Related, do not rule out football players suing schools, and/or coaches, and/or the SEC for handing out their health information. In a roundabout way, it would be similar to the NCAA, the schools they represent, and other business entities having to pay out from being sued over NIL.

It will be interesting to see what Sankey and the SEC decide.