Health, Training & Injury

Glad to hear it John!!  And a waiver is definitely a necessity right now.  Hopefully we will get some legal protections out of Washington at some point.  

Whitpain Township's Youth Football and Cheerleading programs are moving forward with their 2020 season under CDC guidlines and requiring a waiver. 

Thanks for the very thoughtful and well written response J.Garrison.  I think "messy" is a good word for it.  I see this change as inevitable, but there are so many details to be worked through.  In all honesty, I'm glad it's not my job to sort it all out!  I think there are many battles to be had as this plays out, and the best outcome is probably one that is decided at the Federal level so all colleges and athletes end up operating under the same set of rules... whatever those rules may be.

I understand the argument from both sides, but it still seems messy.  An individual’s ability to earn money from his or her own likeness seems fundamental, as does an interest in maintaining a designation between a professional athlete & an amateur. Very few collegiate athletes will be in a position to take advantage of an opportunity to earn a lot of money this way, and I see great potential for abuse. I can picture a scenario where a player may profit off of his or her likeness; however any money earned in this way would required to be held in trust for the person until the completion of eligibility , graduation, etc. I also can see where an athlete on scholarship who doesn’t graduate or leaves w/o injury, etc. could be required to utilize any such earnings to reimburse at least a portion of the cost of the scholarship. I do agree with the premise of the value of the scholarships, physical & nutrition training, facilities, tutors, meals, & so many other benefits not available to most students seems to be extremely devalued when this conversation arises.

That’s brutal.  Our liability insurance didn’t cover but our D&O did, which gave us the confidence to move forward.  Ultimately I think government intervention is needed ... because I’m hearing from insurance people that the trend will be away from coverage not toward more options. It’s crazy that people offering youth sports programs should face COVID liability ... but that’s the reality for now. A lot of organizations are using waivers. But a waiver won’t stop you from facing a frivolous suit.