Sen. Rick Scott is furious by FSU’s rejection as he demands explanations for the college football selection.
ESPN: Fsu officials in a big problem as Sen. demand for urgent answer why fsu is on…..
The senator from Florida wanted texts, emails, and other correspondence related to the decision.
Gainsville, Florida — You guessed it: a heated dispute about a football team’s rejection is turning into a political football game.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is pressing the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee to explain to him why Florida State University was turned down to participate in the yearly tournament, making them the first undefeated team from a “Power 5” conference.
Although FSU was a contender for a spot in the four-team playoff, the selection committee revealed on Sunday that Texas and Alabama, two one-loss teams, had been selected before the Seminoles. The fact that the choice seemed to be motivated on the injury of FSU’s star quarterback contributed to the controversy.
Even the former president, Donald Trump, chimed in, writing on Truth Social that the committee “treated FSU very badly” and that there was “really bad lobbying effort….” Assigning guilt to DeSanctimonious Trump and DeSantis are presently vying for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
In a three-page letter dated Monday, Scott requested comprehensive details regarding the procedures followed in order to deny FSU a postseason berth from Boo Corrigan, the chair of the selection committee.
Scott deemed it “shocking” that FSU was eliminated from the playoffs and insisted on “complete transparency” regarding the selection committee’s reasoning. Just one week prior, the club was rated fourth.
The primary issue, according to Scott, is the rightfully held impression of an unjust system that has mistakenly ignored the proven strengths of an unbeaten team in favor of the conjectured impact of losing a single player. There are innumerable other worries and arguments that might be made here, he continued. “I do think that complete transparency regarding how this decision was reached would do tremendous good for the committee, the CFP as a whole, and the college football community, even though I doubt the committee’s decision will be reversed to rightfully reward FSU for its hard-fought, undefeated season as the committee has done for other undefeated Power Five conference champions in recent years.”
Politicians in Florida may have recommended or advised a number of measures, of which Scott’s letter is the first. While some state lawmakers have called for legal action, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) described the choice to circumvent FSU as a “corrupt decision” motivated by television money in a social media post.
In a social media post, FSU alumni Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) called the selection committee “trash.” “What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results,” Governor Ron DeSantis stated in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. DeSantis announced on Fox News on Monday night that he would like to include $1 million “in case there ever is any litigation” in his next budget suggestions.
“I’m not claiming that there will be. They’re examining it. This hasn’t done much to advance college football, in my opinion,” he remarked. Even if lawmakers decided to reserve the funds, they wouldn’t become accessible until later in 2024.
In his letter, Scott noted that FSU and the Atlantic Coast Conference would lose $2 million if it were decided to keep FSU out of the playoffs while securing a slot for a Southeastern Conference club.
“Although this sum of money is substantial, it represents a small portion of the overall economic impact that FSU would have experienced if they had been in the playoffs,” Scott wrote. “The committee’s decision will likely have profound impacts on the players’ future earnings and opportunities, in addition to the benefits to the university and its athletic program.”
FSU’s season includes victories over rival ACC schools Clemson and the University of Florida, two SEC clubs. It also included an ACC title game victory on Saturday. In mid-November, Jordan Travis, the team’s quarterback, sustained a leg injury that ended his season.
Even with a backup quarterback, FSU managed to overcome the University of Florida Gators one week later and secure the fourth slot in the penultimate playoff rankings. In contrast, the team was forced to start their third-string quarterback against Louisville in the title game.
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But after Alabama upset the defending national champion Georgia in the SEC title game, the committee decided to eliminate FSU. Texas, which the committee ranked third, had defeated Alabama earlier in the season.
Scott demanded in his letter to Corrigan that all emails, texts, and other correspondence between members of the selection committee be provided, along with any correspondence the members had with the SEC, ESPN, or any other outside source.
ESPN, a media company controlled by Disney, has been under criticism for publicly suggesting that Alabama should go to the playoffs instead of FSU. ESPN has the exclusive right to broadcast the playoff rankings.
In addition, Scott requested vote papers and any meeting notes or recordings from the selection committee.
