[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 105 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9475-S9476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CURT FLOOD ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                        HATCH AMENDMENT NO. 3479

  Mr. JEFFORDS (for Mr. Hatch) proposed an amendment to the bill (S. 
53) to require the general application of the antitrust laws to major 
league baseball, and for other purposes; as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
     thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Curt Flood Act of 1998.''

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       It is the purpose of this legislation to state that major 
     league baseball players are covered under the antitrust laws 
     (i.e, that major league baseball players will have the same 
     rights under the antitrust laws as do other professional 
     athletes, e.g., football and basketball players), along with 
     a provision that makes it clear that the passage of this Act 
     does not change the application of the antitrust laws in any 
     other context or with respect to any other person or entity.

     SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO PROFESSIONAL 
                   MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

       The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 12 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new section:
       ``Sec. 27. (a) Subject to subsections (b) through (d) 
     below, the conduct, acts, practices or agreements of persons 
     in the business of organized professional major league 
     baseball directly relating to or affecting employment of 
     major league baseball players to play baseball at the major 
     league level are subject to the antitrust laws to the same 
     extent such conduct, acts, practices or agreements would be 
     subject to the antitrust laws if engaged in by persons in any 
     other professional sports business affecting interstate 
     commerce.
       ``(b) No court shall rely on the enactment of this section 
     as a basis for changing the application of the antitrust laws 
     to any conduct, acts, practices or agreements other than 
     those set forth in subsection (a). This section does not 
     create, permit or imply a cause of action by which to 
     challenge under the antitrust laws, or otherwise apply the 
     antitrust laws to, any conduct, acts, practices or agreements 
     that do not directly related to or affect employment of major 
     league baseball players to play baseball at the major league 
     level, including but not limited to:
       ``(1) any conduct, acts, practices or agreements of persons 
     engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
     organized professional baseball relating to or affecting 
     employment to play baseball at the minor league level, any 
     organized professional baseball amateur or first-year player 
     draft, or any reserve clause as applied to minor league 
     players;
       ``(2) the agreement between organized professional major 
     league baseball teams and the teams of the National 
     Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, commonly known 
     as the ``Professional Baseball Agreement,'' the relationship 
     between organized professional major league baseball and 
     organized professional minor league baseball, or any other 
     matter relating to organized professional baseball's minor 
     leagues;
       ``(3) any conduct, acts, practices or agreements of persons 
     engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
     organized professional baseball relating to or affecting 
     franchise expansion, location or relocation, franchise 
     ownership issues, including ownership transfers, the 
     relationship between the Office of the Commissioner and 
     franchise owners, the marketing or sales of the entertainment 
     product of organized professional baseball and the licensing 
     of intellectual property rights owned or held by organized 
     professional baseball teams individually or collectively;
       ``(4) any conduct, acts, practices or agreements protected 
     by Public Law 87-331 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 et seq.) (commonly 
     known as ``the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961'');

[[Page S9476]]

       ``(5) the relationship between persons in the business of 
     organized professional baseball and umpires or other 
     individuals who are employed in the business of organized 
     professional baseball by such persons; or
       ``(6) any conduct, acts, practices or agreements of persons 
     not in the business of organized professional major league 
     baseball.
       ``(c) Only a major league baseball player has standing to 
     sue under this section. For the purposes of this section, a 
     major league baseball player is:
       ``(1) a person who is a party to a major league player's 
     contract, or is playing baseball at the major league level; 
     or
       ``(2) a person who was a party to a major league player's 
     contract or playing baseball at the major league level at the 
     time of the injury that is the subject of the complaint; or
       ``(3) a person who has been a party to a major league 
     player's contract or who has played baseball at the major 
     league level, and who claims he has been injured in his 
     efforts to secure a subsequent major league player's contract 
     by an alleged violation of the antitrust laws, provided 
     however, that for the purposes of this paragraph, the alleged 
     antitrust violation shall not include any conduct, acts, 
     practices or agreements of persons in the business of 
     organized professional baseball relating to or affect 
     employment to play baseball at the minor league level, 
     including any organized professional baseball amateur or 
     first-year player draft, or any reserve clause as applied 
     to minor league players; or
       ``(4) a person who was a party to a major league player's 
     contract or who was playing baseball at the major league 
     level at the conclusion of the last full championship season 
     immediately preceding the expiration of the last collective 
     bargaining agreement between persons in the business of 
     organized professional major league baseball and the 
     exclusive collective bargaining representative of major 
     league baseball players.
       ``(d)(1) As used in this section, ``person'' means any 
     entity, including an individual, partnership, corporation, 
     trust or unincorporated association or any combination or 
     association thereof. As used in this section, the National 
     Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, its member 
     leagues and the clubs of those leagues, are not ``in the 
     business of organized professional major league baseball.''
       ``(2) In cases involving conduct, acts, practices or 
     agreements that directly relate to or affect both employment 
     of major league baseball players to play baseball at the 
     major league level and also relate to or affect any other 
     aspect of organized professional baseball, including but not 
     limited to employment to play baseball at the minor league 
     level and the other areas set forth in subsection (b) above, 
     only those components, portions or aspects of such conduct, 
     acts, practices or agreements that directly relate to or 
     affect employment of major league players to play baseball at 
     the major league level may be challenged under subsection (a) 
     and then only to the extent that they directly relate to or 
     affect employment of major league baseball players to play 
     baseball at the major league level.
       ``(3) As used in subsection (a), interpretation of the term 
     `directly' shall not be governed by any interpretation of 29 
     U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq. (as amended).
       ``(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect 
     the application to organized professional baseball of the 
     nonstatutory labor exemption from the antitrust laws.
       ``(5) The scope of the conduct, acts, practices or 
     agreements covered by subsection (b) shall not be strictly or 
     narrowly construed.

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