SEC injury reports promise transparency
Scandals are a dime a dozen in sports betting, but through an injury reporting system, measures may finally be implemented to add protections for student athletes. According to CBS Sports, the SEC intends to move forward with an injury reporting system for the 2024 football season. The move seeks to protect players from being exploited while also offering them protections for their confidential information.
details could soon be finalized in time for the start of the 2024 season
CBS Sports reports that while a mandatory injury report has not yet received official approval, details could soon be finalized in time for the start of the 2024 season. The topic came up just a few months ago at the SEC annual spring conference in May and has clearly gained traction since.
The injury reporting system proposes further protections for athletes and staff by incorporating educational components on the implications of sports betting. It would complement the gambling education and awareness training that student-athletes already receive from EPIC Risk Management.
Disagreement among current, former coaches
Not everyone agrees with the push for mandatory injury reports. Nick Saban, the legendary former Alabama coach, expressed in September that while he respects media personalities who want the information, “we also don’t want to create disadvantage for ourselves when situations with players are relatively unknown or day-to-day, and don’t know how they are going to be by game time.”
if it would help our players not get needled for information, I’d be all for it”
At the same time, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said: “Personally, it wouldn’t be bother me if they want to know exactly what our injury report was. You’re going to find it out before the game anyway, if you’re at the game. You’re gonna see who’s suited out and who’s not. Who’s limping and who isn’t. But, I understand that if it would help our players not get needled for information, I’d be all for it.”
Athletes at risk without injury reports
The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has deployed a soft defense as to why it has taken so long to see the proposed measures be put in place. Proponents for injury reports argue that not publicizing athlete injuries has led to a risk of exploitation by gamblers who would use the sensitive information for their betting benefit. The NCAA has continued to update penalties for those found to be in violation of sports betting policies, but the proposed injury report system would reportedly do much to protect players before scandals arise from seemingly legal sports betting.
reduce harassment and potential scandals by banning prop betting on individual players
According to the NCAA, a stunning one-in-three high profile athletes become targets for abusive messages from sports bettors. NCAA President Charlie Baker has thus urged states to reduce harassment and potential scandals by banning prop betting on individual players. In an interview with Fox Sports, Baker expressed regret over expanding sports betting through a bill he signed while governor of Massachusetts. Baker now seeks to reduce the harm he believes he helped cause.
To counter harassment, reduce scandals, and protect each player’s confidential information, the Big Ten is pushing for a national injury reporting system. An earlier push came in 2018 after the US Supreme Court chose to legalize sports gambling. Unfortunately, the NCAA declined to adopt the injury report system, referencing concerns such as “the purpose, parameters, enforcement and effectiveness of a player availability reporting model.”
Since then, the Big Ten has been the first Power Five conference to require “game day availability reports,” which designate injured players as either “questionable or out.” While some schools such as LSU and Florida (both in the SEC) chose to release weekly injury reports like those now being proposed, most schools declined to follow suit.