The Crushing Fist of The Regulatory State

Notre Dame's fine in practice filming death:

The details were released as IOSHA fined Notre Dame $77,500 for six safety violations tied to Sullivan's death, including knowingly putting its employees in an unsafe situation. The junior from Long Grove, Ill., was killed when the hydraulic lift toppled in gusts of up to 53 mph while he was filming football practice.
The Rev. John Jenkins, university president, said the school would study the IOSHA report and take necessary actions to protect students and staff. The school announced last week it was replacing the lifts with remote-controlled cameras.
"None of these findings can do anything to replace the loss of a young man with boundless energy and creativity. As I said last fall, we failed to keep him safe, and for that we remain profoundly sorry," Jenkins said in a prepared statement.
The school is conducting its own investigation.
The report includes dozens of pages, including interviews with other student videographers and Notre Dame officials. One document, written by a state investigator, describes the film Sullivan shot that day.
"[T]he pants, shirts and jackets of the coaches are blowing and whipping in the wind," it says. "The goal posts in front of the camera are moving and the one red flag [on top] is extending straight outward."
The state said Notre Dame failed to maintain safe working conditions or heed National Weather Service warnings.
"The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that the university made a decision to utilize its scissor lifts in known adverse weather conditions," agency commissioner Lori Torres said at a news conference in Indianapolis.

A kid died, working for chump change, in dangerous conditions, videotaping practice by one group of college students preparing to play another group of college students in a game.  The OSHA fine adds up to a few t-shirt sales at the bookstore on game day.  All around, a very sad story that shows the Alma Mater in an awful, but richly deserved light.  As March Madness intensifies, it is a reminder of the perverse emphasis we put on sports, and the out-of-whack economics of entertainment.  This said, I'm part of the problem.