Big 12 politician calls for the federal government to investigate CFB realignment
By Keith Farner
Published:
Only days after the Texas state legislature called a hearing about the future of college sports in that state, a Kansas senator is calling for the U.S. attorney general to investigate ESPN for its role in Big 12, SEC realignment.
U.S. senator Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, has drafted a letter to U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland asking for the Department of Justice to launch a formal investigation into ESPN, Kansas.com reported.
“I write today to ask that the DOJ investigate ESPN’s role in the potential destruction of the Big 12 Conference,” Marshall wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Wichita Eagle, “and if any anti-competitive or illegal behavior occurred relating to manipulating the conference change or ESPN’s contractual television rights.”
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to ESPN, but after the network responded, he later said both sides would back off from commenting in public. Bowlsby’s original comments suggested that ESPN helped the Sooners and Longhorns find a new conference home and that ESPN worked with the American Athletic Conference in hopes of poaching several of the Big 12’s remaining teams, such as Kansas and K-State.
News: A Kansas senator is calling for the U.S. attorney general to investigate ESPN for its role in Big 12, SEC realignment
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— Kellis Robinett (@KellisRobinett) August 4, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
