Open letter to MLB commissioner regarding the Astros scandal
Fans, players and the game deserve a stronger punishment for this blatant disregard of basic fair play and sportsmanship
Originally published by Troy Media
To Robert D. Manfred Jr., Major League Baseball Commissioner
Dear Mr. Manfred:
With Major League Baseball on hiatus due to the coronavirus, you have time to revisit the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
The Houston organization – and the team’s players in particular – are getting off easy when it comes to punishment for a long-standing cheating scheme that hurt opposing teams and players, and left a stain on the game. Worst of all, the Astros won the World Series – baseball’s ultimate event – in an unethical, unsportsmanlike and illegal manner.
Yes, you suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a season. Those punishments are fair and well-deserved. The organization was also fined and lost a couple of draft picks. Fine.
However, the players who carried out the sign-stealing scheme received zero punishment!
Moreover, the Astros organization is still proudly displaying its World Series championship trophy from 2017 and promoting that ‘championship’ in its marketing efforts.
Players and fans are upset with the lack of severe consequences for the players involved, and for the organization.
The best player in baseball, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, is usually very mild-mannered and non-controversial. But he had this to say:
“It’s sad for baseball. It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys’ careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs.”
Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron said your punishments didn’t fit the crime. “I think whoever did that should be out of baseball for the rest of their lives,” said Aaron.
A poll conducted by Eagle Hill Consulting found that
90 per cent of Americans say that players on the team who broke the rules should be punished.
A Seton Hall poll found 49 per cent called your investigation a coverup rather than a serious effort to punish wrongdoing. That’s compared to only 14 per cent who said it was a serious punishment.
To pour salt in the wounds of players and fans, Astros owner Jim Crane said, “Our opinion is this didn’t impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series. We’ll leave it at that.”
We’ll leave it at that?
“What an amazing opinion,” tweeted sports reporter Ian Rapoport after seeing Crane’s quote. “This is like the people who say taking steroids to get bigger, faster and stronger don’t cause more HRs. If it doesn’t help, why are you cheating?”
Crane clearly doesn’t get the magnitude of what his team did. And continuing to allow him to flaunt the World Series trophy isn’t going to help him understand the seriousness of the offence.
There appears to be a problem when it comes to punishing the Astros players. Reports say you gave the players involved complete immunity in exchange for their stories about what happened. Why you gave them zero punishment for their testimony instead of reduced punishment is a question for another day.
In the name of justice, more needs to be done. Fans, players and the game deserve a stronger response to this blatant disregard of basic fair play and sportsmanship.
We propose the following:
– Vacate the Astros’ World Series title. In the official MLB record book, and all other MLB publications, the World Series champion for 2017 should be listed as “Vacated.” And the Astros should be instructed to eliminate any mention of winning the 2017 World Series in all organizational communications.
– Your office should pull back the 2017 World Series trophy from the Astros. It’s not deserved.
– The players on that 2017 team need to return their World Series rings. They weren’t earned fairly.
– Ban the Astros from the 2020 post-season. This will undoubtedly hurt the Astros at the gate, which might be the only way Crane understands the seriousness of what his team did. It will also send a powerful message to every team, players throughout the league and baseball fans everywhere. Cheating won’t be tolerated in Major League Baseball. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) gives post-season bans for serious violations; there’s no reason MLB can’t do the same thing.
– Ban the use of any technology by the Astros during games this season. This includes preventing Astros pitchers and hitters from viewing any previous at-bats from the current game or previous games.
Mr. Manfred, while your initial punishments for the Astros fell well short of what this cheating scheme calls for, there’s still time to do the right thing.
On behalf of players across Major League Baseball, and the millions of fans who love the game, here’s hoping you seriously consider the proposed punishments listed herein for the Astros.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader, founder League of Fans
Ken Reed, sports policy director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #30 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The State of College Athletics with Dr. David Ridpath: Problems and Potential Solutions – Ridpath is a sports administration professor at Ohio University and a long-time member of The Drake Group, a college sports reform think tank.
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Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Episode #26 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Fix Youth Sports? – John O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project and author of “Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.”
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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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