Are You Ready For Some Hearings?
September 19, 2007 at 1:43 pm
A few weeks ago I wrote a piece for the Politico about the rash of waste-of-time Congressional investigations:
What is Congress doing to get back in our favor? Focusing like a laser beam on Iraq, health care, the 2-year-old recovery from Hurricane Katrina? Would you believe, investigating crooked NBA referees? … Is there any standard by which we measure the need for congressional attention to damaging scandals? Apparently it’s a low threshold when sports are involved.
That threshold got even lower yesterday with a congressional hearing into — wait for it, wait for it …OK, here’s the punchline – ancient NFL legends who aren’t feeling well.
Let’s go right to the best part of Yeas & Nays’ coverage of the hearing:
Ditka then seemed to take issue with the whole exercise, declaring: “You people have more important things to do than what we’re doing. Fix it, and everyone will go away, including me.”
But Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., pointed out that the “baseball folks said no one should be holding hearings on steroids, either,” although those hearings became the impetus for change.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., seemed to take Ditka’s side, saying, “Most Americans would look at this and say, ‘Wow, what is Congress doing getting into this?’ ” But he went on to say he’s prepared to introduce legislation if the NFL doesn’t act.
Kerry is correct — why is Congress getting involved? It’s gotta be an incredibly small sliver of America’s population that can call itself retired NFL players on disability. But the need for legislation? Perhaps Kerry might want to solve his home team Patriots’ spying problems first. Now there’s a cause for congressional hearings.
Gullyborg said,
September 19, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
you’d think someone like Dave Duerson, who I used to respect as a player, would have been able to turn some of his millions of dollars in salary over many seasons into, oh, I don’t know, some sort of savings plan, to, like, provide for his needs in his, you know, old age.
idiots.
no wonder Congress is at 11%.
The Sanity Inspector said,
September 19, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
Congratulations on the instalanche. If congress has to investigate sports, pro wrestling gets my vote.
Pat said,
September 19, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
Come on, TSI, that’s not fair. Professional wrestling is not a sport. It’s live theatre.
ss said,
September 19, 2007 @ 4:33 pm
That late-hit call against the Vikings at a critical point in the game against Detroit? Totally bogus. I demand a Congressional investigation!
Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding (Ret.) said,
September 19, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
I just want to point out (and I don’t know why) that Massachusetts has several professional sports teams; Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox; North Dakota has none.
I wonder if that has something to do with it — we’ll know when Dorgan calls for hearings into stolen signals.
Jeffersonian said,
September 19, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
So now Congress is going to start telling sports agents how to write contracts for their clients who, apparently, are so stupid they don’t reaize they are playing a brutal sport that can leave them disabled for the rest of their lives.
Cry me a river, guys.
Ontario Emperor said,
September 19, 2007 @ 6:52 pm
Byron Dorgan’s next election brochure: “I’m for retired football players. My opponent is against them.”
Re-election explains everything.
S.O. Jimpson said,
September 19, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
I’d be able to testifies once I gets outta jails, Senators Kerry. Me and mys pals will make you understands “Wow, what is Congress doing getting into this? reals good. Nobodys betters leave da committee room! I’se be a retired footsballs players and looks hows I turns outs!
Lee Annis said,
September 20, 2007 @ 6:03 pm
It may be true that Congress is overextending itself into the sports business.
However, labor hearings have been around for a long time, at least as long as the Kennedy brothers went after the Teamsters. And, plaudits should go to Mike Ditka and other retired players who’ve condemned the callousness of the current seven figure salaried leaders of the AFL-CIO affiliated union they built like Gene Upshaw towards the pioneers of the league and union the employs each and every one of them at salaries in the multi six figures. Funny. I thought the unions were the only ones who cared about the “labor community.” That’s what they and their Democratic flunkies tell us every election, anyway. Shouldn’t other AFL-CIO affiliates and Democrats distance themselves from those like Mr. Upshaw who’ve so shamefully expressed an incredibly limited concern for the health of those who preceded him in the great game of football and made his long NFL career possible. It’s time for them to be put on the spot! As a Redskin fan, I never thought I’d be saying this, but long live Ditka!