Assumption of Risk

You've been warned. 1

This past Wednesday night, a four-year-old girl was hospitalized after being hit by a foul ball rocketing at over 100 miles per hour off of the bat of Chicago Cubs centerfielder Albert Almora, Jr. during the fourth inning of the Cubs' game at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros. Major League Baseball had several high-profile incidents of fans being injured by foul balls hit into the stands. In 2018, all thirty MLB clubs extended netting at their parks to the ends of the dugouts. That same season, a 79-year-old Dodgers fan, Linda Goldbloom died four days after being hit by a foul ball, despite the extension of the protective netting. It was not enough.

Linda Goldbloom, shortly before being stuck by a foul ball, resulting in her death. 2

Major League Baseball has been immune from negligence under the so-called "Baseball Rule," an inconspicuous disclaimer on the back of its tickets for admission declaring that the fans assumes the risk of injury a a result of the game of baseball. The general legal principle of "assumption of risk" is that a plaintiff who voluntarily assumes a risk of harm arising from the negligent or reckless conduct of the defendant cannot recover for such harm. 3 The result, under the law, has been a blanket immunity for baseball clubs from liability for injuries to spectators resulting from missiles and shrapnel in the form of foul balls and broken bats. However, the notion that a four-year-old or a 79-year-old assumes the risk of hospitalization or death from a night at the ballpark strains credulity, at best, and, in the view of this blogger, is ludicrous. 

FIX IT

While the vast majority of normal, decent human beings, including MLB executives, likely have compassion for people injured in these infrequent, yet potentially tragic, accidents, compassion alone will not help the people who are hurt, nor will it reduce the future chances of such carnage upon its fans, who are the reason there is revenue in baseball. There are two simple solutions to further minimize the risks of  these atrocious consequences during what should be a family friendly outing. The first is Major League Baseball extends its protective netting, all but invisible to the spectator's naked eye, to the foul poles (or farther if reasonably necessary), shielding fans from line drives blasted off of the bats of world class athletes. The second solution is the legal system ruling that fans do not reasonably assume the risks of maimed children or dead parents from watching baseball, hitting MLB and its multi-billion dollar revenue stream where it could hurt. People respond accordingly to pain.

Another possibility is the display of this video with full audio before every at-bat. 4

  

1) Image from https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/fan-sues-red-sox-owner-john-henry-after-fenway-foul-ball-injury/

2) Image from https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/02/05/dodger-stadium-woman-killed-foul-ball/

3) Source: Restat 2d of Torts, § 496A (2nd 1979)
4) Images, in part, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJSScYHHcl4

Patriot Games

A federal appeals court recently rejected New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s appeal to overturn his four game suspension, effective at the start of the 2016 NFL regular season. Brady was determined to have been involved in the deflation of Patriots footballs before prior to the one-sided 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts in January of 2015. The Patriots would advance to and win Super Bowl XLIX over the then-defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.

Brady’s final option would be to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. Legal analysts have opined that it is improbable that the Court would hear the case, meaning that Brady will probably miss the first four games of the coming regular season. This would be the final turn in a story with more twists than a pretzel.

IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING

The Patriots organization is not new to controversy. As far back as the Spygate scandal in which Patriots personnel was caught filming opponents’ sideline signals, the organization has been on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s “naughty radar” for much of the past 10 years. When questionable competitive practices arise involving this team, a common response is, “It’s always something with the Patriots.”

The issues at play include the degree of Goodell’s power in disciplining players and the arbitrary manner in which discipline is handed out for various offenses. In addition, Brady, a player, may be receiving enhanced punishment in the form of a four game suspension (as opposed to a fine for equipment tampering) for the past iniquities of the organization. The Patriots are a regular Super Bowl contender. Losing Brady for a quarter of a season and replacing him with Jimmy Garoppolo, who is high on potential but short on experience, will probably have some substantial impact on the competitive landscape of the AFC race in 2016.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

I am no fan of Tom Brady or the Patriots. However, I am more with them than against them in principle. Equipment tampering is a minor offense and is ordinarily punishable by a relatively small fine under league rules. Goodell has said publicly that past indiscretions of the organization play a role in his response to the Deflategate incident.

The far reaching and very un-prescribed disciplinary power of Commissioner Goodell, notwithstanding the fact that the power was ceded to Goodell in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NFL Players Association and the league, has been the topic of repeated controversy in player discipline cases. At what point does the far reaching power of a singular individual begin to have a negative impact on America’s pastime of NFL football?

At what point, if any, could Goodell overstep his legal authority in these matters? The current CBA expires in 2021. The possibility of this issue reaching a boiling point and either being addressed in negotiations or via a labor stoppage is not far-fetched. Should that happen, the NFL game and its fans will pay the price felt by the more far reaching price. 

It's just another day in Foxboro.

Image from www.jetsrant.com

Strange Bedfellows

Hate is a strong word, in its pure, original form. However, Americans throw the word around in casual conversation, usually having a true meaning of “strong dislike”, “slight dislike”, or a meaning produced by the use of that word in jest. I do not genuinely hate anyone that immediately comes to mind. In the sports fanhood context, I hate Tom Brady and the Bill Belichick era New England Patriots.

If you know me personally or read this blog regularly before its recently discontinued hiatus, this is no secret. They’re arrogant. They’re entitled. They are not likable. And the bastards won’t go away like cockroaches and toilets after a nuclear bomb; they keep on winning.

Over the years I have found myself in the ironic and reluctant position of either defending or mitigating the criticism of Tom Terrific, The Hoodie, and the Minutemen amidst their many controversies. I thought the Tuck Rule was a stupid rule, but it was a rule and was applied to its letter in the infamous Tuck Rule Game that launched Brady’s stardom and the modern Patriots dynasty. I thought Spygate was unethical, but I don’t think it warranted any punishment until the league asked the team to discontinue its sideline filming practices. There is no evidence (not even circumstantial evidence) to show that the Patriots filmed the St. Louis Rams’ walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI, yet detractors of the Patriots organization often freely toss the allegation around a though it were fact.

1

THEY ARE NOT ANGELS

I think that the Patriots organization and Tom Brady are guilty as sin in the Deflategate controversy in which Patriots footballs used during the first half of the 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts in January of 2015 were allegedly deflated below league specifications after the game officials inspected the balls. I also think the impact on the lopsided Patriots victory was between “zero” and “negligible”. More importantly, I think that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell overreached in his punishment of Brady and his team. As reported my multiple news outlets, the penalty on the books in the NFL at that time for equipment tampering is a fine up to $25,000. The Patriots were exponentially fined beyond that threshold, were penalized draft picks, and Brady was suspended for four games at the beginning of the 2015 NFL season.

Of course, the long arm of the real law, not that of Sheriff Goodell, reached out and slapped the NFL, enjoining Brady’s suspension. The court opined that Goodell overreached in his authority, notwithstanding the collective bargaining agreement in place between the league and its players, Brady played the entire 2015 season without interruption. An appellate court recently ruled that the lower erred in its ruling and reinstated Brady’s four game suspension, effective at the start of the 2016 NFL regular season.

2

BLACK MO

If Goodell is the Sheriff in this western style legal drama, then NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith is Black Bart. And he is coming for the sheriff. This morning on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Smith described the intent of the Players Association to take legal action to, once again, invalidate Brady’s suspension and possibly put some handcuffs on the sheriff in the long run. Smith described his disdain for the far reaching authority of Goodell in player discipline issues. With the existing collective bargaining agreement in place until 2021, Smith acknowledged the challenges in curtailing Goodell’s authority. However, the appeals to public opinion and use of the court system are within Smith’s wheelhouse and have proven effective in the past.

We need a new sheriff in town. 3

HOLDING MY NOSE

In this chapter of NFL drama, I am (not so) reluctantly on the side of one of my least favorite players in NFL history. This case is much bigger than Tom Brady or the Patriots and, to a degree, it is bigger than football. In so many words, this is about The Man putting his boot on the throat of the little guy. As rich and famous as Brady is, he is just an employee in and being used as a pawn by the National Football League.

Goodell’s arbitrary exercise of power has become increasingly egregious and grown exponentially during the past several years. What was once an effort to maintain the public image of the league through player and organizational discipline has mushroomed into an untargeted dispersal of power to send a message from one man, the Commissioner, to the people under his authority. It is to the long term detriment, not benefit of the game of football at the professional level.  

"His balls"...what a dick. 4

1) Image with dogonews.com

2) Image from http://ymswwc.wordpress.com

3) Image from http://satiriclyric.wordpress.com

Just win, Lacy!

Earlier this week, ESPN.com reported the story of Lacy T., a member of the Raiderettes, the Oakland Raiders' cheer and dance squad. Lacy had the courage to take on the Raiders, and by extension the NFL, by protesting alleged unfair labor practices. The article, by Amanda Hess, is an interesting read.

I won't opine on complicated or controversial issues in this posting. Lacy and her fellow Raiderettes are the subject of today's Chick Pic.

Al Davis might be rolling in his grave. On the other hand, he may admire Lacy's chutzpah. 1

Hello, Raiderettes! 2

Lacy is trying to "kick it" to the man! 3

Cue Juvenile. 4

♪ Back that thing up! ♫ 5

6

Apparently the Raiders weren't in tune enough with the season of giving. 7

You go, Ms. T! Just win, baby! 8

1) Image from www.monstersandcritics.com
2, 4, 6, 7) Images from www.sfgate.com
3) Image from http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
5) Image from www.ktvu.com
8) Image from www.raiders.com

Retweet of the Day - August 6, 2012

The NFL has made its way back into the headlines in a big way over the last couple of days. First, the 2012 preseason kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame game, played for the first time in two years because of last season's lockout. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Arizona Cardinals in an exhibition that went downhill, from an entertainment standpoint, from the opening drive going forward. Still, football is BACK!

This morning, ESPN reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered suspended Saints linebacker a reduced suspension, from one full year down to eight games for his alleged role in the Saints Bountygate scandal, on the condition that he drop his defamation of character lawsuit against Goodell. This would seem to indicate that Vilma has some degree of leverage, for whatever reason, on Goodell (and his absolute power) and the league.

Today's retweet is a nice one, from RefereeLogic ‏(@RefereeLogic). Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb suffered a rib injury during last night's game in which, of course, Vilma did not participate. RefereeLogic served up this to the Twittersphere:


"Kevin Kolb is hurt, Roger Goodell fines Jonathan Vilma anyway."

Vilma: "He's gonna need the fine money by the time I'm done with him in court!"

Image from http://sports.yahoo.com

Retweet of the Day - Jonathan Vilma's Day in Sheriff Goodell's Court

I thought I was good at ripping pithy one liners before Twitter. I can accept that I am just a guppy in the ocean. Clearly, Rebkah Howard (@pink_funk) has "big fish" potential. She looks like a little cutie, too, guys!

This is funny on so many levels and in under 140 characters. Here is the Retweet of the Day for Thursday, May 17, 2012.

"Vilma is gonna be so disappointed when he finds out the Commish sits on the federal bench in LA, and the federal appellate court too."

Vilma: "What? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Image from a prior Daily Hat Trick