The court-imposed major league baseball antitrust exemption : hearing before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights, and Competition of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on S. 415 ... and S. 416 ... February 15, 1995

les_archives_du_savoir - United States. Congress. Senate. Committee On The Judiciary. Subcommittee On Antitrust Business Rights And Competition

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe
Tout savoir sur nos offres

218 pages

English

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe
Tout savoir sur nos offres

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Sujets

^-^ S. Hrg.\ 104-682
\ THE COURT-IMPOSED MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL ANTITRUST EXEMPTK)N
GOV DOCS
HEARINGY4.J89/2:
S.HRG. 104/682 BEFORE THE
ubcommittee ox antitrust,
Aness rights, and competition
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
S. 415
A BILL TO APPLY THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
AND
S. 416
A BILL TO REQUIRE THE APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
FEBRUARY 1995"15,
J-104-08
e use Af the Committee on the Judiciary
ENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON
: 1996
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Supenntendent of Documents. Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-053848-3I ^ "* ', ^ J^
S. Hrg. 104-682}
MAJOR LEAGUETHE COURT-IMPOSED
ANTITRUST EXEMPTIONBASEBALL
DOCS HEAEING
89/2:
BEFORE THEG. 104/682
UBCOxMMITTEE OX ANTITRUST,
[NESS RIGHTS, AND COMPETITION
OF THE
^
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAKY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
415S.
LAWS TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALLA BILL TO APPLY THE ANTITRUST
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSESIN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES,
AND
416S.
THE ANTITRUST LAWS TOA BILL TO REQUIRE THE APPLICATION OF
PURPOSESMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. AND FOR OTHER
FEBRUARY 15, 1995
104-08
use mittee on the Judidary•^Pnnte^br^^Ie of
x^t^^
<
^ WSrteW®WMENT PRINTING OFFICE
3CC WASHINGTON : 1996^^^"^^^
5989
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent ofDocuments. Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-053848-3:83
L996KF 3989 .A2 G83 1996
United States. Congress.
Senate. Conirdttee on the
•Kie court-imposed rnajor
DATE DUE
KF 3989 .A2 C83 1996
United States. Congress.
Senate. Coinnittee on the
The Delawarecourt-inposed majorSTR(
MassachusettsALA leacrue baseball antitrust montCHA
unaARL
HA>
isinFRE
ISSUED TO ilifomiaJON
I, WisconsinMIK
SPE
--i
MPETITION
montOR
unaAR
Wisconsin
,AL
or
HAMPDEN LAW LIBRARY
50 State St., P.O. Box 559
Springfield, MA 01102-0559
(413) 748-7923
OEMCOCONTENTS
STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Thurmond, Hon. Strom, U.S. Senator from the State ofSouth Carolina 1
Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., U.S. Senator from the State ofVermont 3
Hatch, Orrin G., U.S. from the State of Utah, chairman of
the Senate Committee of the Judiciary 8
Simpson, Hon. Alan K., U.S. Senator from the State ofWyoming 65
Heflin, Hon. Howell, U.S. from the State ofAlabama 68
Biden, Joseph R., Jr., U.S. Senator from the State ofDelaware 71
Specter, Hon. Arlen, U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania 72
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES
Statement of Hon. Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from the State of Florida 9
Panel consisting of Allan H. Selig, president, Milwaukee Brewers Baseball
Club, and chairman, Major League Executive Council, accompanied by
Chuck O'Connor, counsel; and James F. Collier, Shannon, Rill,Rill, Scott,
on behalf of major league baseball 16
Panel consisting of David Cone, Maior League Baseball Players Association;
Eddie Murray, Major League Baseball Players Association; Donald M. Fehr,
Kevinexecutive director. Major League Baseball Players Association; and
J. Arquit, Rogers and Wells, on behalf of the Major League Baseball Players
Association 83
ALPHABETICAL LIST AND MATERIAL SUBMITTED
Arquit, Kevin J.:
Testimony 116
Prepared statement 117
Cone, David: Testimony 83
Fehr, Donald M.:
Testimony 86
Prepared statement 88
CRS Report for Congress, dated Jan. 1995 9213,
Murray, Eddie: Testimony 85
Rill, James F.:
Testimony 49
Prepared statement 51
Selig, Allan H.:
Testimony 16
Prepared statement 18
Docket No. 94-7709, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit,
argued Sep. 22, 1994, decided Jan. 24, 1995 21
Setting the Baseball Record Straight 39
The Fallacies of the CRS Report for Congress ofJan. 13, 1995 41
Article: The Owners Negotiated in Good Faith, The New York Times,
dated Feb. 12, 1995 47
Prepared statement of John L. Harrington, chief executive officer of the
Boston Red Sox 48
Thurmond, Hon. Strom: Submitted the prepared statements of:
Hon. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, U.S. Senator from the State ofKansas .. 6
Hon. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator from the State of New
York 6
(III)IV
Page
APPENDIX
Proposed Legislation
laws major league baseball in certainS. 415, a bill to apply the antitrust to
138circumstances, and for other purposes
application of the antitrust laws to major leagueS. 416, a bill to require the
142baseball, and for other purposes
Questions and Answers
Senators:Questions to Allan H. Selig from
144Leahy
160Simpson
from Senators:Questions to James F. Rill
160Leahy
171Simpson
Questions to Donald Fehr from Senators:
172Leahy
172Simpson
Additional Submissions for the Record
Prepared statements of:
207George N. Spitz
Frank C. Sullivan representing New York based Sports Fans United
210and Cleveland based Fans FirstTHE COURT-IMPOSED MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL ANTITRUST EXEMPTION
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1995
Senate,U.S.
Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights,
AND Competition,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:02 p.m., in room
SH-216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. Strom Thurmond,
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Also present: Senators Hatch, Simpson, Specter, DeWine (ex
officio), Biden (ex officio), Leahy, Heflin, Simon (ex officio), and
Feingold.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STROMTHURMOND,A U.S.
SENATORFROMTHE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Senator Thurmond. The subcommittee will come to order.
Welcome to the first hearing this year of the Subcommittee on
Antitrust, Business Rights, and Competition. Today, we are here to
receive testimony on the baseball antitrust exemption. It is appro-
priate that the Congress consider this issue as a matter of public
policy. The current baseball strike has heightened interest in the
Congress and with the American people concerning the impact of
the baseball antitrust exemption.
The ongoing labor dispute obviously is very for baseball fans.bad
It is bad for the economic health leagueof the cities in which major
teams are located. Each city reportedly loses more than million$1
canceled game. The dispute between the players and owners isEer
forad the tens of thousands of working Americans who try to
make their living by providing the goods and services necessary for
major league baseball.
Despite our interest in seeing the players return to the field, we
must be ever mindful of the need to limit Federal Government
intervention into matters best left to private remedies. The Con-
gress should determine how much Federal involvement, if any,
serves the public interest in this area. But as long as the special
antitrust exemption remains in place for baseball, the Congress is
involved. The (I^ongress has an impact on the sport simply per-by
mitting the special exemption to remain long after the factual basis
for it has disappeared.
It is well known that baseball's antitrust exemption essentiallyis
a historical accident. The exemption was established in 1922 by the
Supreme Court, not the Congress, when the Court held that profes-
(1)sional baseball was not interstate commerce and therefore could
not be subject to the Federal antitrust laws.
Since that time, the Supreme Court held that baseball is, of
course, interstate commerce, but the Court refused to end the ex-
emption. Instead, the Court held that it is up to the Congress to
make any necessary changes in the exemption. In light of the Su-
preme Court decisions in this area, we must recognize that respon-
sibility has shifted to the Congress to address the exemption and
whatever effects it may have on major league baseball's problems.
The accidental nature of the exemption is not a sufficient reason
to end it. There would be little talk of removing the exemption if
professional baseball were trouble-free and the exemption clearly in
the public interest. However, that notdoes reflect the status of
baseball, and it is my belief that the special lacks suffi-
cient justification to continue.
Yesterday, I introduced the Major League Baseball Antitrust Re-
form Act to repeal the exemption. I was pleased to have the rank-
ing Member of this subcommittee, Senator Leahy, join me in intro-
ducing this bill. Although removing the antitrust exemption will
not automatically resolve the problems with baseball, I do believe
it will move baseball in the right direction.
The Thurmond-Leahy legislation repeals baseball's antitrust ex-
emption, while maintaining the status quo for the minor leagues.
Protecting the current relations with the minor leagues is impor-
tant to avoid disruption of the more than 170 minor league teams
which are thriving throughout our Nation. This is a priority which
other members and I have clearly expressed.
I am also concerned about th