It’s a relevant point the author is making.
I’d add, 20% of the Clemson players drug tested before the Chanpionship game last year, tested positive for Ostarine (a PED that helps you stay lean and keep fat off). 15 players were blood sampled, and (3) came back with positive results for Ostarine which is very specific PED. I'd also add, the (3) players all played in different position groups (which is to say, it sure looks like a system-wide issue and not a minor "a few guys are going rogue" issue).
IMO, the steroids story should’ve been absolutely explosive. I have no doubt if it was Ohio State it would’ve been.
It’s sports politics. The company that should’ve been on the forefront of investigating and calling it out, has a major issue at hand. Is destroying Clemson for a steroids scandal worth it when you’ve just invested $2.5B in a conference and own their conference network? The answer is no.
Which is also why it was a major conflict of interest to have an SEC crew officiate a game between Big 10 and ACC teams in a game that decides who goes to the title. People can laugh it off and call them crazy (like Herbstreit did on Twitter) but it’s a real issue. There’s a reason Day and Gene Smith were so “angry” after the game.
When ESPN owns the CFP for $5.7B (until year 2025), has a $2.5B deal with ACC including their conference TV network, has a now estimated $5B deal with SEC (ESPN recently paid for SEC’s game of week which will be moved from CBS to ABC in 3 years) and their biggest competitor is Fox Sports who has a $2.5B deal with the Big 10, you aren’t just talking about a game. It’s business.....you’re talking about Billions of dollars at stake. Quite literally, as ESPN hosted the Big 10 vs ACC game, forget the players and teams.....think of it as two financial investments. One ESPN has bet the farm on, and one, ESPN’s biggest competitor has bet the farm on. And it will be officiated by a “third party” that is under the same umbrella as one of the financial investments.
It’s absurd. I mean, ultimately it is just football, and if anyone should be pissed it’s the athletes who are grossly exploited when you are the dollars being spent for TV rights. But for anyone, including Herbstreit to make this lazy ass argument that Ohio State going to the Championship game, “would’ve been better for ESPN because of ratings” clearly doesn’t see the big picture. Would ESPN have enjoyed a huge, single night of ratings for their CFP and been able to leverage for additional ad dollars next year? Yeah. But does ESPN stand to make far more money long-term with elite SEC and ACC conferences? Hell yes.
You think ESPN is enjoying the ratings bonanza Fox has generated off of Ohio State? Fuck no. Fox college morning show is beginning to creep into College Gameday territory for viewership which was unthinkable just 1-2 years ago. It’s an arms race with massive investments on the line.
I’ll be honest, I hated when the SEC was announced as the officials of our game, but also thought, “there’s no way they’d be that bold to try and influence a game”. Then you hear the replays are being done from the SEC office in Birmingham? And the overturn of the fumble while ESPN’s “rules analyst” is butchering the interpretation of a catch and telling us it will be overturned? It’s gut-wrenching to me.
But to circle back, LSU’s booster scandal and Clemson’s rampant steroid use scandal, are not scandals because ESPN gains nothing by reporting on it. If it were Ohio State though.....