An Alabama lawmaker on Thursday temporarily put on hold dozens of state agency contracts because of what he said were delays by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to implement a law passed in 2023.
Sen. Chris Elliott, a Republican from Baldwin County, said the bill, which he sponsored, was intended to allow employees at businesses that serve liquor to complete the ABC Board’s Responsible Vendor Program online.
Elliott said the ABC Board has not adopted the rules to allow the online training.
A spokesman for the ABC Board said online training is already taking place.
But Elliott disputed that and said the ABC Board’s rules contradict the 2023 law.
“It’s very frustrating for the Legislature, an entire branch of government, to be ignored by the bureaucracy,” Elliott said.
“We’ve passed this piece of legislation. We have communicated with the ABC Board about what the legislative intent was, communicated by phone call or in person, in writing what the intent was.
“And some 18 months later, we still have no rules promulgated by the bureaucracy that is charged with doing it,” Elliott said.
Elliott released a copy of a letter he wrote to the ABC Board in September. The letter said the 2023 law was intended to remove barriers for businesses to participate in the Responsible Vendor Program.
Elliott‘s comments came at Thursday’s meeting of the Legislature’s contract review committee. The committee, which meets monthly, reviews state agency contracts and asks representatives of the agencies questions.
Any member of the committee can delay contracts for up to 45 days. But the committee cannot permanently block or kill a contract.
The ABC Board did not have any contracts on the committee’s agenda on Thursday. Elliott said he put a hold on all the other agencies’ contracts to put pressure on the ABC Board to implement the law.
Dean Argo, manager of government relations and communications for the ABC Board, issued a statement in response to Elliott’s comments.
Argo said online training for the Responsible Vendor Program is allowed and has been taking place for some time.
“The 2023 law by Sen. Chris Elliott did not require the ABC Board to promulgate rules or change any existing rules,” Argo said.
“A private association approached the ABC Board three months ago and requested that several rules regarding the online training presentation be clarified to benefit its members.
“The ABC Board agreed to do (so) because the clarifications did not impact whether or not online training was offered. However, there was disagreement over how incorrect answers offered online were processed.”
Argo said the ABC Board plans to consider the rule change at its meeting next week.
“During its regularly scheduled meeting on October 17, 2024, the Board asked staff for some additional research on what other states are doing regarding online RVP Training,” Argo said. “The proposed rule modification is on next week’s (November 14, 2024) agenda.”
Elliott said Argo’s statement was misleading.
“The statement from the ABC Board is the type of classic bureaucrat double speak that frustrates small business owners and their representatives alike,” Elliott said in an email.
Elliott cited an ABC rule that says: “The format of the course of instruction shall include face-to-face training and question and answer opportunities.”
“This is obviously not conducive to online training,” Elliott said. “To say otherwise is just wrong.”
Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, a member of the Contract Review Committee, opposed Elliott’s decision to hold up all the contracts.
“I think it’s unfair to the agencies that come here and present their case and have a blanket objection to any of the contracts being approved,” Beasley said.
“I’d like to move that we rescind the senator from Baldwin County’s request. If he wants to object and hold ABC, that’s his prerogative. But I don’t think we need to hold everybody else.”
Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said he understood Beasley’s point. But Pringle said the committee has always operated under the rules that one lawmaker could hold contracts without consent from other members.
“One member does have a right to hold every contract,” Pringle said. “And that’s just kind of the way this committee works.”
Elliott said his purpose is to put pressure on the ABC Board to implement the 2023 law. He said he would lift his hold on contracts when the board adopts the rules for the law.
“I’m hoping that this fairly dramatic step here will get their attention,” Elliott said. “And I’m hoping to provide a little bit more incentive to them and pressure all the people in this room to deal with this issue as they should.
“This has been something that’s been going on for months and months. We pass laws and the governor signs them, and we expect them to be enacted by the executive branch.”
The Alabama Responsible Vendor Program is a voluntary program for licensees that sell and serve alcohol. To be certified, businesses must train all employees who sell and serve alcoholic beverages on topics such as Alabama liquor laws, legal age determination, civil and criminal penalties, and risk reducing techniques.
“Obviously, I represent an area that‘s very heavy in the restaurant and hospitality world, they want to have more people responsibly trained to be servers,” said Elliott, whose district includes Baldwin County’s Gulf Coast beaches. “That’s a good thing for them. It’s a good thing for their insurance.
“And so why the ABC board is not moving forward on this, I don’t know. I’m thinking they’re going to get the message after today.”
The contract review agenda included 60 contracts with a total cost of about $80 million.
NORMAN, Oklahoma — The stage was set for Oklahoma. Heck, the Sooners earned the right to set it. This was supposed to be the ushering in of a new era of postseason football for the No. 8 team in the country that had won 10 games in what was one of the toughest schedules this year.
No. 9 Alabama was even one of those teams that Oklahoma beat on its way to earning this spot. And Saturday night, all was going well for the Sooners. It was going so well, in fact, that after the first quarter, some Oklahoma fans might’ve peeked at flights and hotel rates for the Rose Bowl from inside Memorial Stadium.
And then the Alabama Crimson Tide curled and rolled the Sooners, 34-24, and are headed to Pasadena. After opening with 17 unanswered points, Oklahoma collapsed under the weight of that wave, becoming the only team in College Football Playoff history to blow a 17-point lead. And now, the Sooners have done it twice — before Saturday, in 2018 against Georgia.
[Best Teams in the College Football Playoff Era: Creating the Ultimate 12-team CFP]
Here are my takeaways from Alabama’s College Football Playoff first-round victory against Oklahoma on Saturday:
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Zabien Brown #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide stiff-arms John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff first-round game on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson is an avid reader and listener of college football news. Following the largest comeback win in Alabama postseason history, Simpson took a moment to facetiously thank media members for choosing Oklahoma to win on Saturday night.
“I guess we can thank you guys for that,” an emboldened Simpson said. “You guys kind of wrote us off in a sort of way. So I appreciate that.”
After building a three-score lead, the Sooners watched the Crimson Tide recover a fumbled punt, pick off Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and return it 50 yards to the end zone — all before their First Team All-American kicker Tate Sandell missed not one but two field goals in the final minutes to solidify the worst collapse in College Football Playoff history.
Meanwhile, the Alabama Crimson Tide will prepare to take on No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl for the CFP quarterfinal game. This team that punches back and played its best football with its back against the wall is one that the Hoosiers must prepare for on New Year’s Day.
[College Football Playoff Predictions: First-Round Winners to The National Champion]
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners is hit by Deontae Lawson #0 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter during the College Football Playoff first-round game on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
The Crimson Tide began down — just like they did against Georgia in the SEC championship game. But the last three quarters of Saturday’s game demonstrated Alabama to be just who it says it is: the kind of team that can open with a loss to a bad Florida State and also be the first team in six years to walk into Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and come out with a win.
DeBoer’s task now is to find a way to make certain that the team that showed up at Georgia earlier this season and at Oklahoma in the first round is the same one against the Hoosiers. Linebacker Deontae Lawson said that’s his job too. But Bama’s best trait isn’t one that shows itself until it’s in a fight for its life.
“Man, I just think we’re a resilient team,” Lawson said. “And even though we were down 17-0, we didn’t really look at the scoreboard. Coach DeBoer always says, ‘Keep playing the game. The game will come back to you.’ … We just keep fighting.”
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners speaks to an official during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Let’s look at the bigger ones:
These are blunders. Errors that aren’t forced but self-inflicted. It’s difficult to win any game with those kinds of mistakes on your drive chart. It’s nearly impossible in a game of this magnitude, against a team as talented and as resilient as the Crimson Tide.
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Keon Keeley #31 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff first-round game. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Oklahoma usually plays 50 Cent’s “Many Men” before the start of the fourth quarter. In an attempt to make a statement for its first CFP game at Owen Field, the Sooners brought the rapper himself out onto the field to perform the song for fans in a Hard to Kill Hoodie.
“I didn’t know it was live,” DeBoer said.
“I didn’t know who 50 Cent was,” Simpson said, “but I know that song.”
“We play that song at practice on Fridays,” Lawson said.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
Hello college football fans, and welcome to The Athletic’s live coverage of the 2025 College Football Playoff!
Yes, after a 2025 season full of an incredible amount of twists, turns, controversy and pure chaos, the second edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff gets underway tonight. Our opening matchup is a battle of blue-bloods whose first meeting this season contributed to that chaos, as No. 9 Alabama takes on No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman.
Follow along for live pregame build-up and the latest news, play-by-play updates and real-time analysis from The Athletic’s college football staff!
The College Football Playoff gets underway Friday night as Alabama heads to Norman to take on Oklahoma. But to ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, there’s even more at stake for Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.
DeBoer’s name has been the subject of rumors throughout the offseason in the coaching carousel. Most recently, he received questions about the opening at Michigan following Sherrone Moore’s firing for cause, though he made it clear he intends to be at Alabama in 2026.
However, Wilbon didn’t sound as convinced. He predicted Alabama would not only lose to Oklahoma on Friday night, but DeBoer would also be on a flight to Ann Arbor to take the Michigan job afterward.
“Let me tell you about … two schools that could be in the coaching carousel after [Friday night],” Wilbon said Thursday on Pardon The Interruption. “Because when Alabama loses to Oklahoma – let me say it again, when Alabama loses to Oklahoma – the coach of Alabama, half the people in the state will want to run him out. And he’ll be on the carousel – oh, wait, that’s a G5 being flown to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he has said, ‘Oh, no. I ain’t got no interest in that.’ He’ll have interest [Friday night].
“And then, Alabama will be in the coaching carousel because they’ll be looking for a coach. … The Alabama coach is going to have a job-on-the-line situation in 24 hours and then, headed to Michigan once he loses. And then, Alabama’s looking. Then, what are you going to say?”
During a press conference this week ahead of the College Football Playoff opener, Kalen DeBoer was directly asked if he intended to be Alabama’s head coach next season. He responded, “Yes.”
Earlier in that press conference, DeBoer received a question about the rumors surrounding him. He again spoke highly of his tenure at Alabama so far and made it clear he’s happy in Tuscaloosa.
“A lot of the same things I said before, a couple weeks ago, when asked really the same question, just feel completely supported,” DeBoer said. “My family loves living here. Just all the things that we continue to build on, love the progress. Haven’t talked with anyone, no plans of talking with anyone. So just, I think that’s a lot of what I said a couple weeks ago, and continues to be the same thing.
“Feel strong about it. And our guys, if there’s been any distraction, I haven’t seen it, haven’t felt it. I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled whatever noise is out there. And again, we probably all season long, have dealt with enough noise to where it wouldn’t surprise me on how they handle this.”
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