I don't think The Onion could have done a better job.
Judge agrees: Duke football as bad as it gets
Judge agrees: Duke football as bad as it gets
Judge agrees: Duke football as bad as it gets
A Franklin, Ky., Circuit Court judge sided with a devilishly clever argument and ruled in favor of Duke University yesterday in a breach of contract lawsuit brought forth by the University of Louisville.
Judge Phillip J. Shepherd agreed with Duke's lawyers — the football team is so bad that any replacement would do.
U of L sued Duke for $450,000 — or a series with another Atlantic Coast Conference opponent — after the Blue Devils backed out of a four-game football contract with three dates remaining.
The contract called for a penalty of $150,000 per game if a date with a "team of similar stature" could not be arranged.
Duke's lawyers argued the Blue Devils, which have a record of 6-45 over the past five seasons, were so bad that any team would be a suitable replacement.
Judge Shepherd agreed in his summary:
"At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke’s argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville."