by Dave Zirin

"You can't throw money at the problem." As a former public school teacher in Washington, I heard this cliche from countless bureaucrats. It was code for "Stop whining about ancient textbooks and prehistoric classroom materials, because there is no money." Imagine my shock when the city announced it would be spending more than $500 million on a new baseball stadium. Clearly when it comes to the needs of billionaire sports owners, there always seems to be money available to be thrown.

(from the March 29 Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing: "Build It and They Will Come: Do Taxpayer-Financed Sports Stadiums ... Deliver as Promised for America's Cities?")

Witness Testimony:

Mr. Neil deMause, author of Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit

Mr. Frank Rashid, waged an unsuccessful 10-year campaign to save Tigers' Stadium in Detroit.

By Dave Zirin

There are those in the world of sports who view ESPN as some sort of diabolical genetic splicing of the Illuminati, George Bush and something scraped from Chris Berman's loofah. (I personally believe that, not unlike the Bush family, ESPN's power, while disturbing, is vastly overestimated.) This view is being reasserted with the news that former NBA player John Amaechi has loudly and proudly let the world know that he is gay.

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.

In his Edge of Sports column, Dave Zirin recognizes the significance of Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears "shattering one of sports' most formidable glass ceilings." For the first time, the head coaches of both teams in the Super Bowl are black.

Leading up to the Super Bowl, an Online Journal commentary by Jason Miller compares the NFL to U.S. domestic and foreign policy -- and thereby football fans to the U.S. population -- in a challenge to the masses. He writes: "Arising from the same fetid bogs of spiritual decay that spawned the American Way, the NFL reeks with the stench of corporate tyranny, patriarchy, racism, superficiality, greed, competitiveness, and materialism."

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

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.

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.

It's a tough environment in the macho sports world for anyone who happens to be gay. Back in September, 2003, Boston Herald sportswriter Ed Gray wrote a column appearing on the front page of the sports section declaring that he is gay, explaining:

In his May 26 "Edge of Sports" column, sportswriter Dave Zirin sacks the NFL for its treatment of players, and wishes Ricky Williams good luck in Canada and the CFL, where there is "the promise of regaining a measure of human dignity":

Jeffrey Lurie
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Philadelphia Eagles

Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
National Football League

Dear Messrs. Lurie and Tagliabue,

I am writing to urge you to rescind the misguided suspension and planned inactive designation of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens. If the Eagles management declines to remedy its mistake, Commissioner Tagliabue, you should intervene to overturn the team's decision, which dishonors this country's traditional respect for free speech and cheats fans of an opportunity to see arguably the best receiver in football. Let him play.

League of Fans

Good Sports
- Commissioner of Baseball Shows Commitment to Stopping Performance-Enhancing Drug Use

Bad Sports
- Adidas, Reebok Overstepping Commercial Bounds by Interfering with Sports


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