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Sen. Rick Scott of Florida is using the weight of the U.S. Senate to crack down on college football after his team of choice didn’t make the playoffs.
Seriously.
After Florida State wasn’t picked for the College Football Playoffs despite an undefeated season, Scott sent a letter demanding documents from the selection committee. The move is absurd on its face, given that the choice of teams in the playoffs was always going to be subjective. And as sports commentator Bomani Jones explained on Monday, participants are chosen with an eye toward which ones will garner the greatest viewership. In fact, Jones keenly notes that losing your star quarterback to injury — as FSU did earlier this season — might negatively affect your playoff ranking, according to the selection committee’s established principles.
So I guess we can add "college football playoff selection" to the growing list of votes Scott refuses to acknowledge as legitimate.
It’s an absurd waste of government time and resources to pursue this. Scott even concedes in his letter the move is unlikely to reverse the committee’s decision. Nevertheless, he is demanding that the selection committee hand over any notes, emails, text messages and other documents related to its decision.
This is where sports homerism meets political hackery and government overreach.
So naturally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — not to be outdone — claimed on Monday to have set aside $1 million in state funds to contribute to a potential lawsuit against the selection committee, if one is filed.
In a state facing a housing crisis and a mental health crisis (to pick just two), I could imagine other, more productive ways to spend taxpayer dollars. But in today’s Republican Party, performance takes priority over substance.