Injury Reports And Sports Wagering Atop The SEC Meeting Agenda

• The SEC Spring Meetings will take place from May 27 – May 31.
• Three states have legalized sports betting where an SEC team is present.
• Under HIPPA, the athletes’ medical details are private information.

DESTIN, Fla. – With representatives from each university, the SEC Spring Meetings are underway in Destin, Florida.

The group of attendees includes athletic directors, faculty, presidents, chancellors, and more.

The entire schedule of events can be found on the SEC’s website, but one of the main topics of discussion will revolve around sports betting.

Three states representing SEC teams (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee) have legalized sports betting and the focus will shift towards injury reports.

In the NFL, teams are required by league mandate to announce the full extent of their players’ injuries. This includes a description of the injury, the location of the injury, and a timeline for the (potential) recovery process.

In the NCAA, teams have no such mandate. Some coaches release the status of their players well before the game begins, while others are quite silent about their overall health outlook.

This all stems from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). Under HIPPA, medical information is private, secure, and protected.

A breach of this law would include the acquisition and disclosure of the aforementioned private health data.

With sports betting on the rise, gamblers will want access to as much information as possible when it comes to what teams they are wagering on. Without scheduled injury reports, the chances increase that a bettor will look to curtail the system, and talk with an administrator or inside source to gather the secluded information.

According to the President of the NCAA, Mark Emmert, there is the possibility that a task force will be formed. Their discussions will be based all around whether mandating injury reports is in line with HIPPA and how to protect the integrity of the games.

Other issues that will be discussed at the SEC Spring Meetings include athlete compensation (for names, likenesses, and images), the transfer portal and waiver process, alcohol allowance in the stadiums, and integrity issues.

News tags: Injury reports | NCAA | SEC