A letter from Ralph Nader and League of Fans to NBA Commissioner David Stern received nationwide attention in June 2002 for raising questions about the impartiality of officiating during Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Nader and League of Fans demanded that Stern conduct a review to satisfy fans' sense of fairness and to deter future recurrences of such egregious officiating.

According to reports on June 11, 2008, former referee Tim Donaghy -- who has pleaded guilty after being charged in 2007 with conspiring with gamblers -- accused NBA executives and referees of broad misconduct and outright manipulation of game results in a recent court filing.

According to Donaghy, NBA executives directed referees "to manipulate games" in order to "boost ticket sales and television ratings." Donaghy pointed to Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals as one such instance.

Following is the letter from Ralph Nader & League of Fans to Commissioner Stern regarding the egregious officiating in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals.

By Dave Zirin

Dear LeBron:

At the tender age of 22, you have the galactic talent to make us wonder if a mad scientist had Magic and MJ genetically spliced. But talent ain't wisdom. In a recent interview, you said that your goal in sports was to become "the richest man on earth." You also told ESPN, "I'm trying to be a global icon...on the level of Muhammad Ali." These dreams are compatible only if you choose to emulate Ali the icon and not Ali the man.

(League of Fans' Washington Post letter to the editor)

The City's Verizon Center Perk

Washington Post, Letter to the Editor
Monday, March 21, 2007; Page A12

Regarding "Wizards Owner's $50 Million Request Gets Initial Approval" [Metro, April 4]:

If public investment in pressing city needs were to guarantee the District's elected leaders free luxury suites at sports venues, maybe such problems would actually get some attention.

LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers

Dear Mr. James:

Congratulations on your continued success as one of the NBA’s elite players. Perhaps basketball fans across the world will be able to watch you and the Cavs in the Finals very soon.

As someone who participates in many generous charitable activities, we hope you will be responsive to this appeal.

As reported by Mark Segraves of WTOP, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Council Chair Vincent Gray want to sell corporate naming rights to parts of DC public schools. Fenty said: "I think it's a good thing. I think there should be public-private partnerships in schools. I don't think the government should just try and do everything themselves."

The NFL has said it has had to inform some churches, theaters, schools, museums, casinos, hotels and other organizations of copyright limits placed on Super Bowl viewing parties. Yet sports bars and other businesses that televise sports as part of their everyday operations are exempt.

The NFL caught the attention of the media and drew nationwide resentment when they sent a letter to an Indianapolis church prior to Super Bowl XLI, demanding the cancellation of the church's party. The ramifications of such an organizational crackdown could be far reaching. Many churches across the country ended their Super Bowl party plans upon hearing the news from Indianapolis.

Gale Courey Toensing writes a nice summary for Indian Country Today on activities in 2006 regarding the American Indian mascot issue.

In the Public Interest
by Ralph Nader

As we settle-in to cheer on our favorite college football teams this bowl season, it's important to remember that an undisputed consolidation of power and money -- the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) -- controls which schools play in the major bowl games and National Championship game.

In the Pennsylvania race for governor, pro football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann was easily defeated by incumbent Ed Rendell in the November 7 mid-terms. Swann's celebrity status and former position as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (2002-2005) couldn't carry him to victory as they did Arnold Schwarzenegger in California (Schwarzenegger was Chairman of the President's Fitness Council from 1990-92).

On this occassion, League of Fans remembers opposing Swann's peddling of junk food to kids while Chairman of the President's Fitness Council. At a vending machine trade group press conference on January 13, 2005, Chairman Swann was paid to appear next to a vending machine filled with junk food alongside elementary school kids.

As the NBA season gets underway, League of Fans would like to draw attention to the efforts of Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks for the introduction of his new $15 sneaker, the Starbury One, which he will wear on the court during games.

As Business Week reports:
"'Two hundred to buy a pair of sneakers,' Marbury says, 'that's groceries for the week.' He wants Starbury One's low price to show kids how little it costs to make a high-quality sneaker. 'History is going to say Stephon Marbury changed the game,' he says."

(Letter co-signed by: Jim Bouton, former Yankee pitcher and author of Ball Four; Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and author; Neil deMause, co-author of Field of Schemes; Dave Zirin, columnist for SLAM magazine and author of What's My Name, Fool?; Robert Weissman, director of Essential Action and co-author of Corporate Predators; and Shawn McCarthy, director of League of Fans.)

Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Council member:

The District baseball boondoggle is swirling out of control at an ever accelerating pace.

Carter Strickland of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the commercial takeover of college and university athletic departments by Nike, and other apparel companies:

"Being new to Bulldog Nation, Matthew Stafford wasn't braced for the reaction when he sauntered onto the University of Georgia practice fields a few weeks ago dressed in an offensive T-shirt. Go Gators? I Love Spurrier? Nope, it was even worse. 'He's got on Reebok,' Mark Richt yelled to the other Georgia football coaches. He sent the star freshman ... back to the locker room for a change of clothes."

Sarah Moses of Indian Country Today reports that a joint petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was filed on August 11, 2006 for the cancellation of the Washington Redskins trademarked term, "Redskins." The petition was filed by six American Indian young people from across the country ranging in age from 18 to 24.

Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Council members:

The residents and taxpayers of the District of Columbia have been told by members of the DC Council that the baseball stadium has a $611 million cap on spending from city resources for the new stadium project. But the Council is now being asked to violate its mandate to hold costs at $611 million.

Dave Zirin and Derek Tyner reveal in a column for The Nation that Major League Baseball is finally starting to hear the cries of worker's rights activists.

Back in 2004, in response to reports of poor labor practices in factories that produce "official" Major League Baseball licensed goods, Ralph Nader and League of Fans sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr asking that they adopt internationally recognized worker rights standards as a condition governing all of their product sourcing and licensing agreements. The response was lukewarm.