Seldom have the paths of sports and government crossed with much regularity, but now, more than ever, government officials are consistently overstepping their bounds and trying to micromanage the sports world.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter recently called for a full-fledged investigation of the Patriots. Specter’s actions punctuate a growing trend in sports—a trend that we, as students, should be particularly frustrated about.
First and foremost, these government officials, who demand Congressional hearings with alleged ‘roid heads and cheaters, are failing to serve their constituents to the best of their abilities.
With talk of a recession, rampant foreclosure rates and an otherwise stinky economy before us, our nation’s leaders are worried about a game — yes, a game.
Instead of focusing on the more pertinent, wide-spread issues like the economy or the war, these politicians are attacking our professional sports leagues and garnering boatloads of national attention for it.
I understand the argument that professional sports leagues are billion-dollar industries that should uphold certain values like integrity and a level playing field, but if the U.S. government cared about upholding those same values in the business world, corporate America would be a totally different place. Enron and Martha Stewart would be joined by scores of liars and cheaters just like them.
Why should students be concerned?
While our student debts pile up, Specter and others are wasting valuable taxpayer dollars trying to figure out who took shots in the butt.
The money used to conduct these investigations and to house these panels could be allocated to more valuable endeavors like financial aid and reducing our national debt.
But that wouldn’t be nearly as glamorous; and these politicians wouldn’t get valuable face time on ESPN and the nightly news.
It would be one thing if these efforts were making headway, but they’re not.
Major League Baseball still hasn’t adopted a comprehensive testing policy that includes a blood test for Human Growth Hormone, and as long as there are millions of dollars up for grabs in the sports world, cheating will be a mainstay.
The real cheaters in this world are the textbook companies, who seem to semi-annually release new, glossy editions of the same old texts, and oil moguls, who make it impossible for some families to heat their homes or transport their children.
These are the people Congress should be hounding and bullying.
The long-term prosperity of this country and more importantly, our generation, does not rest on Chuck Knoblauch’s 1998 batting average. Nor does it hinge on the value of a Hall of Fame induction or a Super Bowl ring.
It rests on focusing the efforts of government, at all levels, on issues of the largest scale. and no, I’m not talking about Barry Bonds’ head.