Pointing to trade secrets, ESPN and three athletic conferences have waded into a legal battle about whether the Atlantic Coast Conference should have to turn over media-rights contracts to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
ESPN, the Big 12 Conference, the Southeastern Conference, and the Big Ten Conference filed friend-of-the-court briefs this week urging Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey to reject a public-records lawsuit filed by Moody against the ACC.
Read: Florida AG Ashley Moody Jumps Into FSU-ACC Dispute
ESPN’s brief said that the television network has “highly sensitive” agreements with the ACC and other conferences that broadcast sports events.
“ESPN competes vigorously with other television networks for those media rights, and the terms of ESPN’s agreements are carefully negotiated and closely safeguarded,” the brief said. “The terms of ESPN’s agreements are textbook trade secrets. They are precisely the type of information the Florida Legislature expressly made confidential and exempt from disclosure under Florida’s Public Records Act because any public benefit from their disclosure would be significantly outweighed by private and public harm.”
Moody filed the public records lawsuit in April amid months of legal battles between the ACC and Florida State University.
Read: Florida AG Moody Demands ACC, ESPN Agreements In FSU Football Snub
The ACC and Florida State have filed lawsuits against each other in North Carolina and Leon County, with the dispute focusing heavily on media rights for athletic events.
Florida State contends that it could face in excess of $500 million in penalties to exit the ACC. Florida State essentially contends the ACC has shortchanged its members through TV contracts, with the Tallahassee school widely viewed as wanting to move to a more lucrative conference.
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.