First things first: If a legal proceeding is occurring over Zoom, it doesn’t make a big difference where the various parties are located. What matters is that the participants attend the hearing, state their case, and abide by the instructions of the court.
With that having been said, the Pac-12 Conference — which has been dismantled piece by piece due to a series of terrible decisions made by people who have been largely out of touch with reality — does not need yet another instance of bad optics. You would think the conference, in the middle of this miserable and unwanted situation (of its own making), might finally realize the value of good optics and creating the right appearance, especially as it gets taken to court by Washington State and Oregon State.
We noted that Wazzu and OSU are taking the Pac-12 to court, intent on controlling league assets due to the 10 other schools leaving the conference. WSU and OSU feel that they should be allowed to make the decisions governing what is left of the conference, with the other 10 schools having no say since they’re already out the door.
In the pursuit of their shared goal, Washington State and Oregon State were part of a legal hearing on Monday. They were seeking a restraining order blocking the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff from convening a board meeting later this week.
The judge at the hearing divulged a piece of information which — while not damning — is certainly not a good look for the Pac-12. The conference is winning a lot of football games, but it is losing a lot of battles with optics.
Here’s the big revelation about George Kliavkoff, followed by more details plus reactions from fans and commentators: