Varsity Blues: Stanford students file class action lawsuit in college admissions scandal; some good

SAN FRANCISCO (#1189) – This (Thursday) morning CBS SF and other Bay Area news outlets are reporting that, "Two Stanford students, who failed to gain entry to their first schools of choice, filed a class action lawsuit in San Francisco today claiming a nationwide college admission scandal devalued their future degrees. The pair's lawsuit does name Stanford among the defendants which also include USC, UCLA, the University of San Diego, University of Texas Austin, Wake Forest, Yale, Georgetown, and the alleged kingpin of the scandal William Rick Singer [USA, Newport Beach] and his foundation."

You knew it was only a matter of time, but that was fast! Here come the lawyers, less than two days after the indictments were handed down by the Feds in Boston.

Now some good news – no mention in this latest class action news reports about the Stanford Sailing Team and their former coach, whose role in all this, while detestable, was minimal compared to coaches at other schools – to say nothing of Mr Singer and the idiotic (desperately criminal?) parents who paid the bribes. Moreover, it appears to your Ed. that, so far, Stanford University have handled the immediate matter, and media fallout, admirably. I see their alumni reports and some of their other internal messaging, and it has been proper (in there sense of the word as used by our very proper friends at the Fort Worth Boat Club).

But some of the mainstream media love to pile on Stanford, and sailing. To wit, the front page of yesterday's SF Chronicle (below).

More good news. On the theory that all ink is ink, non-sailing friends here in the Bay Area and beyond are saying, "I had no idea Stanford had a sailing team. Other colleges, too?"

God forbid it turns out that sailing teams/coaches at any other schools are involved. So far only rumors, and nothing your Ed. has been able to substantiate. Assuming no other sailing involvement, then, perversely, could this help raise awareness in the USA of college sailing, and sailing in general?

Call me a Pollyanna if you must, or a crouton if you think I'm wrong. Regardless, I look forward to your comments, and no doubt this will get a lot of discussion on Friday's TFE LIVE, as always at 1300 Pacific on our Sailing Illustrated FB page, with replays of the show available there later.

Regardless, there's bigger news coming shortly in the America's Cup, so we are focusing on that.

Full "Varsity Blues" story on the CBS SF website here.

Front page of Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle. Who would have thought college sailing would ever be the focus of a lead story, let alone with a huge photo of collegiate 420s, albeit under cover, above the fold. LOL, "I had no idea Stanford had a sailing team. Do other colleges?"