League of Fans

George M. Steinbrenner III
Owner, New York Yankees

Dear Mr. Steinbrenner:

So you want to be the man who tears down “the House That Ruth Built.” And for what? More profit.

Neither you, nor the city government you pressured, nor anyone else should ever do this to a place so rich in history and tradition as Yankee Stadium. Would the city ever tear down Carnegie Hall? Adding wasteful insult to senseless injury, you command hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies and primary neighborhood parkland to support a new impostor stadium.

Imagine the following scenario:

Your favorite team is very popular and sells out most of its games. The owners of the team like to take advantage by finding ways to collect additional revenue. They dislike ticket scalpers making money off of their team’s popularity and getting away with it.

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.

The Honorable Adrian Fenty
Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Mr. Fenty:

With the primaries fast approaching, many voters are waiting for a plan as to what you would do to fix the baseball stadium mess should you become the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

In his Sports Illustraded column (text) / National Public Radio commentary (audio), Frank Deford appreciate’s soccer’s global popularity and the World Cup’s “sport in the raw … played by … the rock stars of sweat — for the glory of their homeland.” Deford observes:

Baseball stadium legislation passed by the D.C. Council in the dead of night — after illegal closed-door discussions involving political payoffs — does nothing to curb runaway stadium costs and is a sham on the public, a citizens’ coalition charged today.

The late-night backroom deal-making which resulted in a 9-4 emergency vote in favor of the Major League Baseball stadium lease is an affront to the taxpaying residents of the District of Columbia.

Not only did the DC Council subordinate the life necessities of District residents to Major League Baseball, they also approved the stadium at all cost. Despite initial reports of a “cap” on city spending of $610.8 million, a major loophole renders this so-called cap meaningless.

Major League Baseball is experimenting for the first time this year with “Faith Days at the Park.” These religious promotions leverage a market of evangelical Christians who are accustomed to mass worship in stadiums. The Atlanta Braves have scheduled three “Faith Days” this season, the Arizona Diamondbacks one, and the Florida Marlins have scheduled one “Faith Night.”

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.

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: