Leveling the Playing Field

by Weiler, Paul C.

• ISBN13: 9780674006874
• ISBN10: 0674006879
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-14
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

The world of sports seems entwined with lawsuits. This is so, Paul Weiler explains, because of two characteristics intrinsic to all competitive sports. First, sporting contests lose their drama if the competition becomes too lopsided. Second, the winning athletes and teams usually take the "lion's share" of both fan attention and spending. So interest in second-rate teams and in second-rate leagues rapidly wanes, leaving one dominant league with monopoly power.The ideal of evenly balanced sporting contests is continually challenged by economic, social, and technological forces. Consequently, Weiler argues, the law is essential to level the playing field for players, owners, and ultimately fans and taxpayers. For example, he shows why players' use of performance-enhancing drugs, even legal ones, should be treated as a more serious offense than, say, use of cocaine. He also explains why proposals to break up dominant leagues and create new ones will not work, and thus why both union representation of players and legal protection for fans--and taxpayers--are necessary.Using well-known incidents--and supplying little-known facts--Weiler analyzes a wide array of moral and economic issues that arise in all competitive sports. He tells us, for example, how Commissioner Bud Selig should respond to Pete Rose's quest for admission to the Hall of Fame; what kind of settlement will allow baseball players and owners to avoid a replay of their past labor battles; and how our political leaders should address the recent wave of taxpayer-built stadiums.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Sports on Trial	1	(8)
I THE INTEGRITY OF SPORTS
Misconduct on the Field	9	(8)
Honoring Civil Rights in Sports	17	(14)
The Deadliest Sin in Sports	31	(25)
The Sports War on Drugs	56	(17)
Athletes as Role Models	73	(24)
The Moral Ideal for American Sports	97	(6)
II OWNERS VERSUS PLAYERS
Show Us the Money	103	(15)
Sports Joins the Union	118	(16)
Opening the Flood-Gates	134	(16)
What Antitrust Did for Players	150	(20)
How to Level the Player Field	170	(28)
Salary Sharing among Players	198	(25)
III OWNERS VERSUS OWNERS---AND FANS
The Brave New World of Franchise Free Agency	223	(11)
How Far Have We Traveled?	234	(12)
What the Law Should Do with Raiders	246	(17)
Stadium Socialism or a Stadium Cap?	263	(15)
Sports in Intellectual Space	278	(19)
What Should Leagues Be Like?	297	(17)
Expand or Break Up the Big Leagues?	314	(20)
A Better World for Fans	334	(7)
Epilogue: A Performance-Enhancing Law for Sports	341	(8)
Acknowledgments	349	(4)
Index	353