- Sep 8, 2014
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This is ridiculous...but it's not surprising. The 4 JUCO's in Arizona that shut down their football programs cited insurance costs and the difficulty in finding insurance companies willing to take on football:
A bizarre state law is forcing Steve Spurrier’s Florida AAF team to drive to Georgia to practice
A bizarre state law is forcing Steve Spurrier's Florida AAF team to drive to Georgia to practice - FootballScoop
Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos team is sitting at 2-0 so far in the Alliance of American Football season, but they’ll be dealing with an unexpected issue for the next few weeks that is far less than ideal.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Apollos will have to practice in the state of Georgia starting in March because in the state of Florida professional athletes are excluded from receiving workers compensation insurance. In The Sunshine State, professional athletes are not categorized as employees, so they are unable to file workers comp claims for injuries on the job. The current lineup of professional teams in Florida have had the advantage of being established and have been able to find insurers who have been willing tot take on their entire leagues, but the AAF has had no such luck.
So, in an effort to take care of their players, the plan is to house players in a hotel in Jacksonville for a little over a month, and travel a half-hour over the border into Georgia to practice at a high school field while still playing their home games in Orlando.
The report shares that the state of Georgia will provide an insurance company to cover players as long as 51% of their practices take place within the state lines of Georgia. That means that Spurrier’s team will have to make the trip north 36 days for practices in order to ensure they’re looking out for the safety of their players.
Steve Spurrier shared the following on the situation with the Orlando Sentinel:
“We tried to call some big shots in Tallahassee to get it worked out, but I never could get through to the Insurance Commissioner (David Altmaier),” Spurrier said. “We’re not crazy about the set-up (of having to practice in Georgia), but it’s all we can do. When you’re in a new league, sometimes you just have to make adjustments.”
Head here to read the full piece, including quotes from the Head Ball Coach.
A bizarre state law is forcing Steve Spurrier’s Florida AAF team to drive to Georgia to practice
A bizarre state law is forcing Steve Spurrier's Florida AAF team to drive to Georgia to practice - FootballScoop
Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos team is sitting at 2-0 so far in the Alliance of American Football season, but they’ll be dealing with an unexpected issue for the next few weeks that is far less than ideal.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Apollos will have to practice in the state of Georgia starting in March because in the state of Florida professional athletes are excluded from receiving workers compensation insurance. In The Sunshine State, professional athletes are not categorized as employees, so they are unable to file workers comp claims for injuries on the job. The current lineup of professional teams in Florida have had the advantage of being established and have been able to find insurers who have been willing tot take on their entire leagues, but the AAF has had no such luck.
So, in an effort to take care of their players, the plan is to house players in a hotel in Jacksonville for a little over a month, and travel a half-hour over the border into Georgia to practice at a high school field while still playing their home games in Orlando.
The report shares that the state of Georgia will provide an insurance company to cover players as long as 51% of their practices take place within the state lines of Georgia. That means that Spurrier’s team will have to make the trip north 36 days for practices in order to ensure they’re looking out for the safety of their players.
Steve Spurrier shared the following on the situation with the Orlando Sentinel:
“We tried to call some big shots in Tallahassee to get it worked out, but I never could get through to the Insurance Commissioner (David Altmaier),” Spurrier said. “We’re not crazy about the set-up (of having to practice in Georgia), but it’s all we can do. When you’re in a new league, sometimes you just have to make adjustments.”
Head here to read the full piece, including quotes from the Head Ball Coach.
