Baseball Players Civil Liberties Being Flushed Down The Toilet

[Itsthetruth]

Chemical McCarthyism
By Matt Welch

Reason
March 15, 2005.


Major League Baseball stars have been subpoenaed to testify before Congress about steroid use and confidential drug tests. They vow to fight the order all the way to the Supreme Court.

Does your urine belong to Congress? Should private citizens not suspected of any wrongdoing be hauled up to Capitol Hill and grilled under oath, on live TV, about what substances they've put in their bodies?

Congressman Henry Waxman sure thinks so. The Los Angeles Democrat is convening hearings Thursday, March 17 on the pressing national security issue of ballplayers using performance-enhancing steroids. Last Wednesday, subpoenas were sent out to seven current and former Major League Baseball players to testify about their hormones in front of the oxymoronic House Committee on Government Reform.

For once, the urinalysis enthusiasts in the nation's sports pages are not joining as one to cheer on the feds. Epithets like "witch hunt" and "grandstanding politicians" are being tossed around, and for the first time in my memory, sportswriters are expressing concern about privacy rights and the long reach of Uncle Sam.

I think they feel empowered to do whatever they want," Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf said last week, while emphasizing that he opposes steroid use. "You look at what they did with the 'confidential' drug tests that we had ... they said, 'Eh, we don't care if it was confidential or not. We're going to do what we want with it.'

"It's kind of a 1984 deal where basically, they want to know everything you're doing at all times, and because we're in the public spotlight our civil liberties are flushed down the toilet. It's chemical McCarthyism."

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/21487/

[GodlessBiker]

1. They should honor the subpoenas, invoke their Fifth Amendment rights

(because their truthful testimony would more than likely tend to incriminate them), and let that be the end of it.

[SaveElmer]

6. Not if they are granted immunity

They will then be forced to testify. They will be free from criminal prosecution, but of course their public image will be shot. This is a joke...if they were interested in getting to the bottom of this they would have done this years ago...and why only these players...where is Barry Bonds...how about all the doped up track and field athletes...where's Marion Jones...what about football.

Almost seems like they are trying to help Jose Canseco sell his book!

[GodlessBiker]

7. They should not be given immunity.

Ollie North got it and look how that screwed up a perfectly good prosecution.

[northzax]

25. none of those sports has a congressionally granted anti-trust exemption

Since congress has granted an exclusive charter to MLB, it has an oversight role.

I have heard multiple theories about Bonds not being called, but the BALCO thing seems to make sense. I wonder if he's listed as 'cooperating' with the investigation? And Giambi isn't? or maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

anyway. MLB is free to ask congress to revoke the Anti-trust exemption and be left alone. Think they will?

[SaveElmer]

57. Question

How is it Congress is able to get Cigarette CEO's to testify etc...I thought these hearings were based loosely on a reading of the commerce clause. WOuldn;t that include just about any business that conducts operations in more than one state ?

Also, doesn;t the government provide support for the olympic team ? SUrely this would give them some role>

[northzax]

61. not sure why the olympic team would matter

since MLB and the olympics are not affiliated with each other and major league players don't play in the olympics, it would take away from the stretch run...

In the opinion of every lawyer I have talked to, and I know quite a few who do this wort of thing (but none who work for MLB, alas) congress has every right to do this. The question most people are asking is not CAN congress do this, but SHOULD congress do it?

[SaveElmer]

68. If the point is to deal with steroid use in sports

The olympics would definitely be relevent. Baseball is being picked on because of Canseco's book and BALCO. Football has the exact same issues, probably more so as steroids are of more benefit there.

[northzax]

70. Steroid use in Olympic sport is being addressed

by the international and national governing bodies. one positive test costs you two years. in baseball, your fifth positive test costs you one year.

[Melodybe]

2. Right on, I totally agree, yet another bait and switch.

[HereSince1628]

3. Well, this takes us back to the Black Sox doesn't it?

Baseball aand Congress...

BTW, the Cubs have sidelined both Prior and Woody for pain in their arms. Corticosteroids are good for ligament inflammation in horses.

[htuttle]

4. Oh, how the rich whine when subjected to the treatment the poor receive

I'm no fan of random drug testing. I think it's unfair (for a lot of reasons I won't go into here), and in most cases unwarranted.

However, you need to drop piss to get a LOT of crappy jobs nowdays. Having to do so to get a major league baseball player's salary doesn't cause me that much consternation. Walmart and (some) McDonalds are just two of the corporate conglomerates that require their serfs to drop urine on command, and that's for minimum wage slavery.

[tom_paine]

11. Bingo.

Exactly.

[tx_dem41]

55. They're rich because people pour money into sports..rich, poor..

and middle class by going to the games, watching it on TV, and listening to sports on the radio. Given the amount of money in sports, would you rather the rich owners and broadcasters get the lion's share of the players' salary instead? If so, you are just for the really rich getting richer.

[Eric J in MN]

58. You need to take a urine test for many Fortune 500 jobs, whether

you're rich, poor, or middle-class.

[adwon]

5. If MLB wants sympathy

they can voluntarily cancel their Congressional grant of monopoly. Til then, they can accept the fact that Congress never gives a gift without strings attached.

[Johonny]

10. I think you'll find

the players would be more than happy to get congress to wave the monopoly.


To me the only thing I think congress should investigate in this matter is the FBI-steroid link. What did the FBI tell the owners, when did they tell them, what follow up investigation was done, and what owners knew what was going on. To me the players side is far less interesting. I think it's clear the owners knew this was happening and did nothing to stop it because the increase in production clearly brought fans to the parks and moeny in their pockets. They only started complaining when they figured out steroids was a wedge issue they could use to hurt the players union. To me it's a double edge sword though. The players have gotten their fair share of the bad press, now it's time to start looking into what the owners were doing.

[northzax]

27. and i think you'd find

that they would be stupid to do so.

[Johonny]

29. Why?

It kept players as indentured servants for most of baseball history.

[northzax]

36. and now it protects the revenue streams

that pay them absurd amounts of money.

[Johonny]

40. How?

It's very unlikely another baseball league could form and grow big enough to take a slice of MLB. The NBA, NFL and NHL do not have this protection and none of these leagues has ever been seriously challenged. Baseball's competition is with these other leagues and the monopoly clause helps them not a wit with it.

[northzax]

42. well, it's worth noting that the Curt Flood Act

removes the exemption from labour matters entirely.

Had it not been for the exemption, most observers believe that at least the Expos, and probably the twins, would have been closed. that's a loss of 1/15th of the union's jobs. that affects their revenue.

in addition, the exemption prevents owners from moving teams without permission from the league. this protects players from being 'colted' in the middle of the season and allows for more city-identification among fans, which leads to greater revenues.

but that's just my though.

[Johonny]

51. BS

Then most observers are stupid. The owners made a ton of money whoring the expos to DC. If you're dumb enough to believe MLB wanted to really contract I got swamp land in Arkansas you might want. Don't you get it, the "contraction" was a way for MLB to move teams around without looking like they were screwing fans. League permission, like that's hard to get.

-allows for more city-identification among fans, which leads to greater revenues.

He He I'm laughing my ass off on this. 1 ) i don't believe this is true 2) I believe city identification was pretty much saturated in most areas sometime around 1920. 3) the number one thing that leads to great revenue from greater fan support is winning. Absolutely nothing has a greater impact on fan attendence than winning games. It's a plan simple easy to look up fact. Good night and good bye fantasy person with fantasy views of the game.

[northzax]

53. no baseball team moved between 1971 and 2005

how many football and basketball teams moved in that time frame?

[quaoar]

56. Quite a few moved

Baseball owners should be able to move teams -- especially if they are unable to compete in the small market they are located in.

OTOH, there should be some restraints to keep owners from screwing over fans or moving teams around like nomads always in search of a better deal.

[northzax]

59. sure, Major League Baseball has the right to move all the teams

it wants. But constraint on the individual owners by the rest of the league has helped prevent as much of the 'build us a stadium, or we're gone' as in football, it's not as much of a threat in baseball, because they need the approval of other owners to move. Hence the issues with Peter Angelos in DC.

[spooked911]

8. It's a shame because I thought Waxman was one of the good guys

but this is such a ridiculous issue for congress to pursue now with all the other problems going on in this country.

Sometimes it seems as if all politicians are worthless.

[Toucano]

9. They're not being asked to submit to urinalysis.

They're being asked to testify on the subject.

Congress is well within it's authority to waste valuable time with this ridiculous matter if it wants to.

As others have pointed out, the players can exercise their 5th amendment rights.

It's false and misleading to suggest that they're being subjected to urinalysis.

[Johonny]

14. Wrong

Congress wants MLB to surrender drug tests that were done voluntarily under the agreement that the players names would not be released. That's the number one issue the players object to. Congress is telling baseball to break it's contractual word with the players union and release urinalysis data.

[GodlessBiker]

16. But Congress is not a party to MLB's collective bargaining agreement.

MLB did not have the power to agree with the players to never turn over urinalysis results even in the face of a subpoena.

Moreover, it's my understanding that the urinalysis results would be turned over with the names of players redacted.

[Walt Starr]

22. Plus congress has the power to subpoena the test results WITH the names

Congress is bending over backwards here.

[GodlessBiker]

28. Just goes to show you that you should never believe that a private

contract between two parties can bind a third party that has the power to issue subpoenas.

[northzax]

31. with the usual exception

of lawyer-client and doctor-patient, under most circumstances.

[Johonny]

35. Who cares

Sure congress can do it. Didn't say they couldn't.

I am just saying I see no difference between taking these test results, and forcing the players to take new tests. Either way congress is overly interested in peoples pee.

[northzax]

37. Congress has a justified interest in investigating criminal activity

that involves interstate commerce.

this applies.

[Johonny]

41. I think you'll find

I'm not opposed at all to the investigation. I even said exactly what interests me. It's certainly not what players pee is tainted. It's the fact the FBI did know this was going on and did warn the baseball owners. To me the central questions are

1) What did the FBI do after that. I mean they had enough evidence to tell MLB, but not make one significant arrest in all these years?
2) What did the onwers do with this knowledge?
3) Was GWB one of the owners contacted witht this information?

No of those answers are in the players urine.

[northzax]

45. past failure to investigate

does not preclude new investigation. maybe these are issues congress will address. this is the first of many hearings, I think.

[Johonny]

48. How do we know?

If there was a past failure to investigate. That's whole point to me of the fucking issue!

[northzax]

30. um, it is a felony to obstruct justice

and the use of steroids without a prescription from a licensed physician is a crime.

MLB has records of dozens of US residents who have knowingly committed crimes. There is no doctor-patient or lawyer-client privilege between MLB and the players.

What would you say if, say, the Navy knew that a group of sailors had gang raped some women at a conference? And decided not to do anything about it? can the Navy be supoenaed to force the issue?

[Toucano]

38. "Does your urine belong to Congress?"

This article is deceptively suggesting that the players are submitting to drug tests before Congress.

Congress isn't interested in their URINE. They're interested in the DATA.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/11129784.htm
"The congressional committee gave major league officials until today to produce documents about their new drug-testing program, including results -- with the names of players removed."

Every day, at schools and workplaces across this country REAL people are forced to subject themselves to drug testing. Do they get to have their names removed? No. They suffer the full economic impact that positive results may have.

These rich, self-indulgent sports figures are NOT being asked to submit their urine to Congress. They're being protected more than the average worker could hope to be.

Talk about TWO AMERICAS!

[Johonny]

43. Nah

My Urine is executive type stuff. We got number 2 in the white house now so why not number 1.

[tom_paine]

12. Why should they be any different than the rest of us Imperial Subjects

Screw them. They all voted for Bushler anyway (not that it mattered a damn who they voted for, Der Fuhrer was going to "win" regardless).

Fuck them. Let them suffer like the rest of us. It's karmic payback.

[KansDem]

15. I hear you!

When "peeing for a paycheck" for us commoners got into high gear, I don't recall any pro-baseball players "going to bat" for us... Perhaps they all thought it was a good thing and would rid our beloved nation from vipers and hop-heads who conspire to undermine mom, apple pie, and... baseball.

But, on the other hand, this could set a dangerous precedent.

[tom_paine]

20. The dangerous precedents have all been set...in concrete...already

The Imperial Subjects of Amerika are about to be broken in the same way (but using different methods, naturally) as the Soviets, Nazis, Pinochet, and Ferdinand Marcos broke their people.

What happens to these Pampered Aristocrats matters nothing to us, we are going to eventually be treated like Soviet Citizens no matter what happens to them.

[OneBlueSky]

13. with all the REAL issues that Congress should be addressing . . .

why are they wasting their time on this? . . . war in Iraq, ridiculous budget deficits, job outsourcing, tax cuts for millionaires, phony bankruptcy "reform," unanswered questions about 9/11, peak oil, ANWR, scrapping 50 years of environmental legislation, Social Security, use of depleted uranium weapons by US troops, the Plame affair, the Gannon affair . . . oh, hell, the list is endless . . . and they choose to spend their valuable time dicking around with baseball and steroids? . . . reminds me of that R. Crumb cartoon of the guy walking around with his head up his own ass . . .

[Walt Starr]

17. So tell me where the right to refuse a subpoena is in the Constitution?

I musta missed that Article the last fifty or so times I read the thing.

[Itsthetruth]

24. This Is Bad, Very, Very, Bad

Joseph McCarthy used them to conduct a witch-hunt.

I can just hear a Congressional Committee member asking a ball player:

"Are you now or have you ever used steroids, pot or any other drugs"?

"Have you ever played ball with other players who used drugs"?

"Name baseball players you think have used steroids"

"We want names! Name them! This is Congress and we have the right to this information. If you refused gives us names and answer all of our questions you will be held in contempt of Congress!"

This is not good, not good at all.

[northzax]

34. right.

of course, I can point out one small difference:

It is not a crime to be a communist.
It is a crime to use steroids without a prescription.

see how that works?

[Walt Starr]

47. Congress has a duty to investigate institutionalized criminality

and its duty runs deeper since it let Baseball be exempt from anti-trust laws!

Calling this McCarthyism is to insult those who were truly damaged by REAL McCarthyism in order to allow rich entertainers get away with breaking the law and not embarassing big baseball and the owners!

Fuck the baseball players. I hope they land in jail! And the beauty is, if granted immunity, it's only from their own testimony. The testimony of the others is still usable against them in a court of law!

[northzax]

32. huh, I was just flipping through the old document

and I can't see where is says Congress haas the right to issue supoenas? It wasn't until Anderson v. Dunn that the Supreme Court decided it did.

[Walt Starr]

50. And the SCOTUS is the final arbiter on constitutionality

So Congress has a constitutional authority to issue subpoenas via SCOTUS precedent.

[merh]

18. Baseball players have the money to hire lobbyists to run PR

campaigns that get this monkey off of their back. They should let the people know that this is a smoke & mirror attempt by Congress to ignore the vital issues before them and to shaft the people.

What about Gannongate, Hailburton, Plame?

Baseball players need to put their money where there mouths are!

[IrateCitizen]

19. Quite honestly, I really don't care about this...

It's a bunch of grandstanding by Congress and the victims are spoiled millionaires who get paid more per year than many will make in a lifetime for playing a game.

[NervousRex]

21. Fuck 'em!

Their "Golden Shower" is really made of gold...for the rest of us it's just piss.

[w4rma]

23. This is all John McCain's little project. Blame it on him. (nt)

[quaoar]

26. Baseball deserves no sympathy

until it pulls its collective head out of its collective ass on this issue.

Steroids have clearly compromised the integrity of the game and Bud Selig's attempts to sweep the whole thing under the rug are causing it to metastisize. Selig said the other day that he would not change any records set by players found to have used steroids because it wouldn't be fair -- because other eras had issues involving the integrity of the game as well and no records were changed then. In other words, things weren't fixed then, so we won't fix them now.

Baseball thinks it is above the law and act as it sees fit. Their anti-trust exemption has made them arrogant. It's long past time that baseball's exemption be revoked.

Players should be compelled to testify about steroid use -- with immunity grants if necessary. Any player who still refuses to testify should be held in contempt of Congress.

Anyone found to have used steroids should be banned from the game and any records that player set should be stricken from the books.

More than 80 years ago baseball was about to go under from the Black Sox scandal. The owners brought in Kennesaw Mountain Landis to crack down and reassure the fans that baseball would be played by the rules. He ruled with an iron fist and banned gamblers for life. It was harsh, but it saved Baseball.

We are rapidly approaching a similar situation today.

[Bluzmann57]

39. Kenesaw Mountain Landis

also prevented the Black man from entering the Major Leagues during his lifetime. He is no hero. And I agree with those who say that Congress may have a few other issues to deal with other than protecting us from those evil ballplayers and steroids. War, SS, bogus journalists, outing a CIA agent, and on and on...Baseball has survived other scandals and will survive this too. With that being said, GO CUBS!

[quaoar]

46. Landis was a dictator for sure

But he did what was needed to be done in the Black Sox case, harsh though it was.

But it's true about his racial policies. He was detrimental to baseball in that instance.

[jakefrep]

62. The only truth about the steroid situation

is that we'll never know the true scope of steroid use in the past.

Why can't we accept that in the past nobody had a clear handle on the situation and move on?

[grumpy old fart]

33. Neither MLB nor the MLBPA really give a hoot about steroid use....

In fact, ownership loved it and encouraged it by turning the proverbial blind eye. Homers mean fannies in the stands. Baseball hasn't been Baseball for a long time (I mean, there's supposed to be 9 men to a side, right? Not in the AL!) Hell, next thing ya know, they're gonna start drug testing Brad Pitt, et al. This country is just f*ing obsessed with entertainment. No wonder we get the government we do....sheesh.

[Itsthetruth]

44. "A Chance To Clear Their Names" Sounds Like McCarthyism

Baseball steroid probe could backfire on panel
By Patrick O'Connor
The Hill
March 15, 2005



.... Brand contends that the committee’s investigation, which includes a request to view the league’s new steroid-testing agreement with the players union, is a direct violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects labor negotiations between private parties, because it would force league and player’s association officials to violate the confidentiality and privacy rights of that agreement.

“This uncommonly intrusive review by Congress will inevitably make it more difficult for bargaining parties — not just those in sports — to reach agreements on sensitive issues,” Brand wrote in a letter to the committee.

He also argued that the committee’s jurisdiction does not extend to Major League Baseball because it does not pertain to the “overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and activities, including federal procurement.”

In addition, Brand said that the investigation would violate the players’ privacy rights if they are forced to testify about steroid use that may have occurred before the new drug-testing policy was introduced. “All the players involved see the invitation, therefore, as an effort to embarrass them or their peers,” the letter states.

“We’ve been frustrated thus far by lack of cooperation,” Marin said. “Davis sees this as a good opportunity for Major League Baseball. This provides a pretty good platform for the players. For some, this is a chance to clear their names.”

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/031505/steroid.html

[northzax]

60. Sure...except

MLB is not a law unto itself. Just because baseball didn't ban steroids doesn't mean that they were legal, they remain illegal. So Brand's argument in the fourth pp, doesn't hold water. Privacy rights do not extend to criminal activity. You can invoke the fifth amendmentbut that's a right against self-incrimination, not privacy.

He may well have an arguement on the NLRA question, I don't know enough to answer that.

As for McCarthyism. That's bullshit. Sorry, but McCarthy was 'investigating' perfectly legal and constitutional activity. It was never a federal crime to be a member of the communist party. It is, and was, a federal crime to engage in inter-state transportation of illegal or controlled substances without a license. For controlled substances like prescription drugs, your prescription, from a licensed physician, isthat license. IfJose Cansecoever took a vial of whatever he was taking from Oakland to Seattle, with the intention of providing it to comeone else, he committed a federal crime. Steroids are illegal, they aren't banned by baseball, they are banned by the federal government. Frankly, Congress let MLB get away with a failure to regulate their players for far too long. If what it takes for MLB to actually get tough on steroid users, illegal drug users, is a few subpoenas, then go for it.

[quaoar]

49. At my job, I can be fired

For testing positive for drugs.
For bringing alcohol onto the premises
For getting arrested for DWI
For failure to keep insurance on my car
For making sexual comments that make a female co-worker uncomfortable

Unless, of course, my job is to throw a baseball 90 mph. In that case, I get multiple chances to clean up my act.

[Itsthetruth]

52. Sorry To Hear That

Obviously you do not an employment contract. Corporate executives, union workers and baseball players have labor contracts. Perhaps you can/should organized a union? With a labor contract you can get a fair hearing and usually can't be outfight fired for a single incident violating company rules

You sound angry and have every right to be. But, don't get angy with others who have successfully obtained labor contracts. They are not your enemy!

[quaoar]

54. No labor contract here

And I'm not angry. I could leave and go elsewhere if it was onerous enough. And in many ways my company has a lot of benefits that others don't.

My point was that normal people don't get all the chances to clean up that baseball players do. Darryl Strawberry is the perfect example. If he was working in a factory with a union contract, how many chances would be get? As many as baseball gives?

[Blue_Tires]

63. this is from the onion, right??

that whole, 'baseball players are persecuted downtrodden victims' act is soooo 1994.

In every facet, from high schools, to developmental leagues, to AA ball to the majors, the sport is seriously fucked up right now...the fact that the league hasn't folded completely is a testament to the game's staying power and legion of fans, despite the efforts of the puppet commish and the player's union.

[LifeDuringWartime]

64. what business does congress have policing baseball?

n/t

[GreenArrow]

65. a waste of time and money

We "need" congressional investigations into steroid use in baseball? Give me a fucking break.

[Itsthetruth]

66. Leave The Baseball Players And Their Labor Organization Alone!

The witch-hunt is directed at baseball players, not the owners. Once the ball players won real union recognition and actually went on strike and won their battle we saw a wave of right-wing criticism of the players and their union leadership.

They have never been forgiven by the corporate owners and other like-minded corporate figures. Right-wingers are calling for the heads of baseball players and want to destroy their labor organizations.

Just check out what all the right-wing talking heads are saying.

Progressives should not be supporting and echoing their harrangues against baseball players. That's disgraceful.

Yes, it not the same identical things as the 1950's witch-hunt against "communists" in the 1950's. But the same kind of reactionary forces are behind this new kind of McCarthy like witch-hunt.

Name names! Clear your names by snitching on fellow players.

The baseball players union and baseball owners have a new and good procedure for steriod testing. Congress should stay out of it. And certainly no "liberal" Democratic members of Congress should be unite and find common cause with right-wing Republicans in Congress in launching a "big ratings" TV congressional investigation patterned after McCarthy's hearings.

It was McCarthy who offered alleged communists the opportunity to clear their names by naming names. Is that what we all really want to see happen with this committee "investigation"?

It's baseball players today. Who will it be tomorrow?

[GodlessBiker]

67. Would you feel cheated

if you rooted for a player all season and saw him going on to break records and then learning that the player had taken steroids to artificially boost his physical performance?

[GreenArrow]

69. I'd not have a lot of respect for that player

though I might understand the competive pressure to get an edge on ones opponents. But I don't think we need freaking Congressional Hearings to talk about it. Don't those people have better, more important things to do? It's a pure waste of taxpayer time and money.