The SEC's Athletic Pursuits

Summer's close brings with it the beginning of football season.  

This time of year also generates confusion among sports fans about the abbreviation "SEC."  During my years of service at the Securities and Exchange Commission, we once sent an investigator to the Southern states to interview witnesses during the investigation of famous sports agent "Tank" Black.  The investigator, who identified himself as being from the "SEC," was shown the red carpet.  The welcome wagon was later sorely dismayed when they learned that the investigator did not hail from the only SEC that mattered to them—the Southeastern Conference—arguably the best college football conference. The case of mistaken identity didn't deter the Securities and Exchange Commission, which later sued Black. The SEC has pursued other figures in the sports world, including:  Fran Tarkenton, the NFL quarterback whom Howard Cosell referred to as "Sir Francis," Doug DeCinces, the Baltimore Orioles third baseman who succeeded Brooks Robinson and was later traded to make room for Cal Ripken, Jr., and Robert Gist, an agent whose clients included NBA player Latrell Sprewell (who once choked a coach who told him to "put a little mustard" on a pass).  Anyone who cried watching the movie Rudy—portraying former Notre Dame football player Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger—may have also cried when the SEC sued Rudy for his role in a company that sold a sports drink with the tagline "Dream Big! Never Quit!"  Critics of the movie Rudy, who feel Rudy was actually offsides on the key cry-inducing play, may not have had much sympathy for the former athlete. These athletes all settled with the SEC without admitting any wrongdoing.  The SEC's pursuit of individuals in the sports world shows that on field success does not always translate to off field success.