HOUSE OF MIRRORS: GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN SPORT

by Don, With Malice...

Written in conjunction with a piece up at With Malice... Don't Get Caught

I asked the question of several prominent bloggers, "Given the current situation with Major League Baseball, do you think it's appropriate for the government to get involved in professional sports?"

Given the importance of the question, I went outside Epic... the responses were many and varied, but all interesting...

Matt Moore, Hardwood Paroxysm...
I tried to imagine if this was the NBA, so I'd actually give a rat's ass. Here's the thing. It should never have gotten to the point where Congress even felt it had to get involved. It's not like anyone was just sitting around and went, "You know what would kick ass? Fucking with baseball! That should definitely earn us votes!"

I get the whole, "The government has more important things to spend it's time on" thing. But at the same point, we spend enough time and money on a variety of issues that a lot of people don't find important.

Baseball, meanwhile, is essential to the emotional well-being of the country. Sports is a vital conduit for people to express themselves and find some small solace from the stress and tragedy of every day life. Should they spend time and money on this before Iraq, or cancer, or health care?

No.

But they're not going to do anything about those issues. The small, simple issues, like, "star athletes shouldn't take PED's," they can handle. I don't blame Congress for getting involved. I blame baseball for being so screwed up that it's come to this. Plus, Roger Clemens can smoke a pole.

Let's put it this way, if Vince Carter got busted...okay, let's pick someone I don't hate.

If Amare Stoudemire got busted for PEDs and lying about it, I would want Congress to get involved.

As it is, it's just another reason why baseball is not nearly what it was 20 years ago, regardless of ticket sales.

The Prophet, Prophet Fighting...
As a Libertarian, I'd say absolutely not. Most of the justifications I've read/heard suggest that due to the antitrust exemption Congress has purview over MLB--of course as a Libertarian having such an exemption is an anathema to the free market. For more on the Libertarian take on the Feds involvement I refer you to the excellent website of the equally excellent magazine REASON.

Here's a link to get you started but I recall a few other articles on the subject over the past year or so. http://www.reason.com/news/show/123811.html

Andy Kissko, Rivalfish...
That is a very good question, but I find the inverse question even better: Given the current state of the government, do you think it's prudent for them to get involved with sports? They have an awful lot on their plate.

Personal politics sort of aside, If I were more satisfied with the government I'd be more ok with this. We have a war going on though. Not to mention the voting attendance record of Congress is not so laughable as it is cry-able. This was the most apathetic congress in history. Otherwise I'd be more ok with it. I'm ok with it in principle- If we were warless, and the Congressman cared about real issues, I'd be totally fine with it.

People can say all they want that sports are just sports, and are taken too seriously by society, or they are just a form of escapism, etc. But the fact is that sports are a big deal in this country and millions of kids list athletes as their role models. For that reason I'm ok with the government getting involved.

In summation, I'm fairly conflicted, so based upon my uncertainty I can't say that I am definitely opposed, because parts of me are in favor. Between the current administration and the current Congress, I'm no longer surprised by questionable decisions. Why start now?

Simon, Simon On Sports...
Absolutely not. First off half of the congressmen presiding on these hearings can't even pronounce namers correctly. Secondly sure steroids are bad but were we really that much worse when it was under the radar?

Now, kids know that a ton of these players got to the MLB with the help of steroids. Now they know the consequences and the potential results. Just seems like a huge waste of time for me, especially considering the fact that they act as if MLB is the only one with the problem.

Rupert, The Ghosts of Wayne Fontes...
All I can say on this topic is that I think government's involvement in sports is like women's involvement in basketball. No matter how hard you try to make me care about this shit, I continue to refuse.

Mac G, Mac G's World...
Of course the government should stay out of this topic and it is typical grandstanding by both political parties.

I could list several other issues that need precedent by Congress over enforcement of MLB's drug policy.

I am probably in the minority but I am tired of George Mitchell's holier than thou act too by the way. The more important question is how Bud Selig able to get a 3 year contract extension as commissioner?

Total Joke.

There is plenty of blame to go around to all parties on the steroid era but the final accountability rests with baseball's CEO. He failed miserably.

I can not wait to see how George W Bush does as Selig's replacement, any guesses to that final outcome?

DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool...
MLB as a current institution monopolizes professional baseball for the entire country. There is no free market system by which, say, an up and coming metropolis like Las Vegas or Portland could get a team without decades of legal wrangling and heartache, and another city's fans getting jobbed over in the process.

That's not a free market, and government isn't involved in that decision at all, other than to give MLB the green light to do just that with the anti-trust exemption. MLB also fails to share its revenue or cap its salaries in a way in which teams from MLB+ (i.e., Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles) do not have an incredible, and eventually ruinous, competitive advantage (witness Japan, aka the supplemental farm system for the rich).

True, small market teams can have their brief windows of excitement, but why should anyone choose to be a Twins, Tribe, A's or Marlins fan, knowing that all of the good players will be shipped out as soon as you actually know their names? (Note: I am an A's fan. And bitter...)

MLB also played ostrich with performance enhancers, selling out the long-term integrity of the sport for a few years of homer-fueled attendance.

Their Hall of Fame kept Buck O'Neill out and dozens of forgettable mediocrities in. The worst commissioner in the history of the sport will have the longest tenure. And finally, the leagues don't play by the same freaking rules. DH or no DH; pick and be done with it, for heaven's sakes. It's only been 35 years.

What, exactly, could the government do that's worse than this performance? (... this is a rhetorical question. I'm very aware of Katrina, Iraq, Plamegate, Bin Laden being alive and the dozens of other litanies from the past few years. Besides, we're talking more about Congress than the Executive Branch getting involved here, or at least threatening to get involved.)

And for every knee-jerk libertarian who wants to denigrate any act of government, I'm sorry that you Hate Our Troops. I also hope that you refuse to use any of those evil government roads, electrical grids, telecommunications or plumbing systems.

It's also implicit that you let yourself be indicted by a grand jury, since government lawyers are part of the government, and therefore must not be able to do anything. It's OK if you're convicted, though, since government jails are ran by government guards, so you'll probably be able to escape just by challenging them to a game of hide and go seek (we now return you to your regularly scheduled rant that relates to sports).

Government interaction is a lot like a labor union -- if your corporation was so badly run, so abusive to its workers, or violated so many laws that you've got one, you probably freaking deserve it. Besides, you know who'd really hate Congress getting involved in MLB? Baseball owners and the baseball union. Both of which are, um, loathsome scumbags that make decent people spit. So why not wish another pox on their house?

Sooze, Babes Love Baseball...
Wow - great responses by all. While pondering whether I think the gov.should be involved with all this performance-enhancing nonsense, I thought, do I really want to know the truth?

What if my favorite player was under scrutiny?

What if Johan was accused of using something other than a vitamin (which shouldn't need to be injected)to step up his game?

My heart would be broken in ways I can't explain.Are we better off not digging into the past and just focusing on cleaning up the future?

I guess I don't really have an answer to that yet.

And you're right Dave, no one chooses to be an A's fan... or a Twinsfan.

Or a Rays fan.

However glorious it may be to see your team swept in the ALDS -- or not even make it there -- who doesn't want to see their boys of summer win a World Series more than once every 15-20 years?

Or 100 years?

But I want to see it done the old-fashioned way.And I guess if that means Congress' involvement to clean up the game as much as possible, then so be it.

Eric Angevine, Storming The Floor...
Given that our government basically exempts professional sports from certain anti-monopoly laws, I do feel like baseball owes them some sort of compliance and deference.

However, the steroid controversy seems more like an opportunity to grandstand and get on television, and certainly doesn't impact the citizens of this country directly. If you want to bust players for having illegal drugs, send the cops, not a freakin' legislator.

Darren Heitner, I Want To Be A Sports Agent...
With the huge income generated by American professional leagues, the government has and will continue to get involved in professional sports.

MLB has been the exception, receiving anti-trust exemption long ago and the government has basically had a hands off approach to dealing with league-wide issues.

I think that the MLB should be allowed to keep its salary structure the way it is (the only pro sport without a salary cap), but I see no reason why the government should be prohibited from stepping in to solve an illegal substance abuse problem.

The NFL is not free to regulate all of its illegal hits, the MLB should not be free to regulate its drug policy when violations continue with no end in sight.

Rob, With Malice...
The government has no business getting involved in this. As far as I understand (I could be wrong) there is no law against an individual juicing up. Each sport has rules governing the use of HGH and performance enhancing drugs and should be left alone to enforce their own regulations.

BUT... if baseball (in particular) wants to bury its collective head in the sand (or up its arse in the case of Bud Selig) and effectively condone drugcheats then perhaps there is a case to be made for the government to get involved.

Andrew Thell, Empty The Bench...
I get the impression that the government's interest in interfering with baseball has more to do with public relations and grandstanding than any actual good they wish to do.

I don't see them going after professional wrestlers, and I don't think they have a right to demand any drug testing policy in a private industry where public safety is not at stake.

The government obviously has a right to uphold their laws, and if this is merely a matter of stopping individuals from breaking laws, then the government should simply stick to going after those law-breaking individuals—not Major League Baseball.

The government can threaten to repeal the anti-trust legislation which currently protects Major League Baseball, and that is a legitimate stick to urge change.

However, they have no right to make a categorical demand on any private industry to enact costly drug-testing policies.

The interstate commerce clause of the Constitution is the justification that has been used by individuals like Senator John McCain, but that's flimsy at best. It's probably the most abused clauses in the Constitution, something that can be applied to nearly any situation to circumvent the spirit of the document.

So no, I don't think the government has a right to interfere with baseball's policies.

Joe Mackin, Sports Tech Now...
While I am a huge sports fan, I am much more worried about the state of our economy and our well being in this country.

The government should not be spending any time on sports. All their time should be spent figuring out how to get the troops out of IRAQ, creating new jobs, and spurring innovation to get us less dependent on oil.

Don, With Malice...
It worries me that it was seen as a necessity for the government to get involved in the rules adjudicating a sport. The regulations regarding sports are so heavily influenced by the respective Players Associations, and generally speaking those bodies seem to be very enthusiastic about providing as much protection as possible against stringent testing.

That's the part I don't get, if so many players are clean - as we're frequently assured they are - then why isn't tougher testing encouraged? Allowing drug-cheats to prosper in sport only makes it tougher for those that are clean.

I don't like that the US Government had to get involved in baseball, but if that's what it takes to clean it up, then that's what it takes.