Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 10, 2004
Ganging Up on Fehr

Donald Fehr got an earful from all sides today. Senator McCain, Bud Selig, Paul Tagliabue and Gene Upshaw all agree that baseball should have a tougher drug enforcement policy. Fehr stood on principle, however:


Fehr said that he couldn't commit to any changes in the 2002 collective bargaining agreement, which called for anonymous tests last year for the first time. Five to 7 percent of those survey tests came back positive for steroids, which triggered testing with penalties this year.

McCain and other senators on the panel called the policy inadequate, noting that a player doesn't face a one-year suspension until the fifth offense. The NFL, by contrast, has a year-round random testing program for players and imposes immediate suspensions on those who test positive for banned substances.

"I believe that the program that we instituted has had some effect," Fehr said.


I have a feeling this is all theater. The Senate has better things to do than worry about steroids in baseball. I also wondered if Selig had donated to McCain. He hasn't. You can see his political donations here. Looks like he gives to Democrats. If you can scroll down, you can see Wendy's donations as well, also to Democrats. I guess there's no direct payoff here.


Posted by David Pinto at 02:55 PM | Cheating | TrackBack (2)
Comments

David, FYI Joe Biden (a Democrat) also contributed to clamor for tougher drug testing in baseball.

Posted by: Steve at March 10, 2004 03:02 PM

Also... in a funny twist to what you are saying about McCain, an article came out today stating McCain wouldn't be opposed to being Kerry's VP.

Obviously that would never happen and Selig would never know it when donating a year ago, but still kind of ironic.

Posted by: Bill Kelly at March 10, 2004 04:04 PM

Actually, these are the types of things that politicians do in election years. They are flashy topics that the public thinks are important. Why? It's an emotional response. Yes, health care, jobs, taxes, etc. are all more important, but they never stir up the pot and get people to the polls nearly as much as these "issues". For example: gay marriage.

Posted by: Jim Pollaro at March 10, 2004 04:49 PM

Of course it is theater! Baseball people get dragged to congressional hearings on a routine basis. It has been happening for decades. For example:
=============
Senator Kefauver: Let me ask you, first, do you think there should be some limit on the length of time of a reserve contract?

Jackie Robinson: Yes; I do sir.

Hearings before the Subcommittee on Antitrust & Monopoly, Senate Judiciary Committee, July 1958
==============
This is act XXXVIII of a very old political play: pols crave media exposure, and sports provide it.

Posted by: Skip at March 10, 2004 05:04 PM

As much as I might not like steroids, I don't have time for silly theatrics like this. The Federal Government ought to have better things to do with their time than worry about this issue.

Posted by: Eric at March 10, 2004 05:30 PM

the federal govt. does have better things to do, and they are doing them as well... there are many many many different committees and panels...

Steroids are illegal, and you can agree with that or not, but under current laws they are illegal, this is a high profile case, and the govt has every right to step in and say something about it. There has been a war on drugs in this country for a long time, this is part of it.

saying the govt has better things to do with their time on this is like saying the coast guard shouldnt be making drug interdiction missions on the coasts of florida and california because they have better things to do. this can be argues as well, but unless they plan on legalizing controlled substances in this country, this is part of the ongoing war on drugs.

Posted by: James at March 10, 2004 06:31 PM

I don't understand why so many of you hold such cynical views about this. Look, the MLB exists only because Congress is willing to grant it an exception from anti-trust laws. Congress does this because it believes that the benefits of baseball outweighs the evils of a monopoly, right? So what happens when baseball becomes disgraced sport played by many players who cheat by taking illegal substances?

MLB's anti-trust exception gives Congress the right and the responsibility to make sure that baseball remains a public good. That's why senators are getting involved in this controversy. Besides, isn't it possible that these senators are baseball fans who care about the game?

It's clear that the union has no desire to fix this issue and the owners are too weak to fight them on it. I think Congressional pressure is the impetus that baseball sorely needs to institute a rigorous testing regime.

Posted by: Frank at March 10, 2004 10:12 PM

I agree with Frank.

Plus, everyone seems to be pooh-poohing this as a non-issue for politicians, yet the polls suggest that for parents with high school athletes steroid use is a huge issue for them.

So shining a spotlight on the sport with the highest profile for having steroid problems is a politically smart thing to do. It's the way a representitive democracy is supposed to work.

Remember today's mother's of a teen athlete who may be tempted to dip into the steroid well, was the "soccer mom" of the last election cycle. And that was a crucial demographic to have on your side if you wanted to win an election.

Posted by: Edw. at March 11, 2004 05:44 AM