There is a scene in the movie Concussion (2015) where Alec Baldwin’s character, Dr. Julian Bailes, is trying to explain America’s obsession with football to Will Smith’s Nigerian-born character, Dr. Bennett Omalu. Bailes held us two fingers and said, “my daddy, a Louisiana judge, always said that in the South God is first.” He then switched his hand to hold up one finger and said, “football is second.” And that’s football in America.
It would appear that the football world is at a crossroads that will now include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Senator Rick Scott, and the Walt Disney Company. Disney feuding with the Florida governor is nothing new, but the addition of Scott and football is new to this fight.
First, some background. The College Football Playoffs (CFP) committee is comprised of college presidents, former coaches, and other dignitaries. Every year, the CFP meets secretly to select the four best college football teams that will play on New Year’s Day in the College Football Semifinals, with the winners playing in the CFP Championship Game 10 days later. This year, the four teams they selected were the University of Michigan, the University of Washington, the University of Texas, and the University of Alabama.
And this brings us to Governor DeSantis and Senator Scott. Despite being undefeated and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida State University was left out of the playoffs. Because the CFP decided in secret, conspiracy theories took over the internet, and now DeSantis and Scott are putting up money to prove that, somehow, Disney is involved in this slight to the state.
What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results.
Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 3, 2023
Wait, why Disney? The Walt Disney Company owns ESPN, which is the broadcast partner of the CFP. Disney and ESPN paid $2.2 billion over a decade for the broadcast rights to the CFP. So, DeSantis and Scott believe that somehow ESPN, on behalf of its parent company, Disney, contacted the CFP to ensure that Florida State did not make it into the final four.
According to Politico, Scott has sent a letter to Boo Carrigan, the chair of the selection committee, seeking all communications about Florida State University and the selection process used to keep FSU out of the CFP. Scott is also seeking all communications between the selection committee and anyone at ESPN. Scott cited the fact that ESPN personalities were actively trying to convince the committee to leave FSU out of the playoffs and include a one-loss Alabama team.
But Florida Gov Ron DeSantis is taking things a step further. Yesterday, DeSantis announced that he was setting aside $1 million from the state’s annual budget to aid Florida State University in any litigation it plans against the CFP committee. It is unclear where that money will come from in the budget.
What both Scott and DeSantis forgot about the CFP’s decision to leave Florida State out of the CFP was that the Seminoles lost their starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender, Jordan Travis, to a leg injury. Without Travis, the Seminoles could barely beat Louisville in the ACC Championship game, while Alabama beat defending National Champion Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
For now, it appears that the litigation is coming, but Florida State still won’t be playing for a National Championship this year. Sometimes, you just have to live with the College Football Playoff snub.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
