[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 157 (Wednesday, November 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE FAIRNESS IN ANTITRUST IN NATIONAL SPORTS (FANS) ACT

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 14, 2001

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today the 
``Fairness in Antitrust in National Sports Act''--better known as the 
``FANS Act''.
  After one of the greatest World Series of all time that gave a much 
needed boost to the entire Country, I was shocked by Major League 
Baseball's decision just two days later to eliminate two teams as early 
as December 15th of this year.
  This is why it is imperative that Congress move quickly on the FANS 
Act to insure that anti-competitive decisions by Major League Baseball 
concerning the elimination or relocation of teams are subject to the 
antitrust laws like all other professional sports and businesses. I 
want to make clear that the particular modifications to the antitrust 
laws made by the FANS Act is not intended to imply that baseball's 
antitrust exemption currently exists beyond the scope of the court's 
decision in Piazza v. Major League Baseball.
  Any time 30 of the wealthiest and most influential individuals get 
together behind closed doors and agree to reduce output, that cannot be 
a good thing for anyone but the monopolists. If GM and Ford got 
together and jointly agreed to cut production, people would be 
outraged. That is exactly what baseball has done.
  In 1922 the Supreme court erroneously held that baseball was a 
``game'' that did not involve ``interstate commerce'' and was therefore 
beyond the reach of the antitrust laws. The Supreme Court upheld the 
exemption in a case brought in 1972 by Curt Flood, one of the greatest 
players of his time. But now that professional baseball is a $3 Billion 
annual business and the time has long since passed when it can be 
contended that baseball does not constitute ``interstate commerce.'' 
This is why in 1998, I led the way in repealing the exemption as it 
applies to labor disputes, in the well named ``Curt Flood Act''--now it 
is time to finish the job.
  The elimination of baseball teams from a particular city, be it 
Minnesota, Montreal or Florida, will result in the loss of millions of 
dollars in revenue to the local economy and the loss of thousands of 
jobs. Not just the jobs of baseball players, but the jobs of ticket 
takers, food vendors, security personnel, and numerous others.
  A little competition is good for everyone. If the antitrust laws can 
apply to major league football, basketball, and hockey, there is not a 
reason in the world they cannot apply to major league baseball. Let's 
level the playing field once and for all.

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