Creator Of Athletic Director Simulator Supremely Chill About ESPN Copying His Idea

Say at least this much for Matt Brown, writer of the college sports-focused Extra Points newsletter: He is a fair-minded guy. You can safely bestow unto him the Ceremonial Scepter of Good Duderdom. Tuesday, Brown learned that ESPN, the all-powerful behemoth astride sports media in the Western world, made and published and advertised what is in effect a copy of his excellent Athletic Director Simulator 4000, a game he built from his own imagination, the maintenance of which requires ongoing care and attention. ESPN launched their competing game this week as a feature on their website, and though it looks different, it is substantially the same game. The URL, as has been pointed out by many fans of Brown's work, even says "athletic director simulator."

Reached by Defector Wednesday morning, Brown was noticeably less enraged by ESPN's behavior than was the reporter who'd called him. "I want to give people the benefit of the doubt," said Brown, while neither screaming nor chewing through a hardbound dictionary. "I could see them reasoning, Our graphic style is different from that thing, we're trying to reach a different audience, we have a different objective. And one person can't, you know, copyright or lay claim to the idea of a text simulator based on multiple choice questions, balancing a budget, approval rating, and Director's Cup rankings for an athletic department. One person can't really own that idea."