With all the challenges our country faces, one would think that Congress might want to focus its attention on any of a number of issues….Placebocare, cap and trade, energy policy, Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Iran, Russia, Social Security, the economy, the deficit, the budget etc. etc. etc. These are all topics worthy of focused time by Congress. Rather than dealing with issues that might impact the country, Congress has meetings scheduled for this:
Congress has scheduled a hearing next week to scrutinize a controversial Minnesota law allowing Kevin and Pat Williams to fight their suspensions in Hennepin County and thwart the NFL’s authority to discipline the Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl tackles.
The hearings stem from a situation where the Williams boys tested positive for an NFL banned substance. The players say the banned substance was in an off-the-shelf supplement they took that did not have the substance listed as an ingredient. The NFL said “too bad. Ignorance is no excuse!”
The NFL tried to get the players suspended last season but in an interesting legal maneuver, the players turned the tables and got accused the NFL of violating Minnesota’s drug testing laws. The NFL is now running to Congress in an attempt to get them to back the NFL, under the guise of “we’re just doing what you told us to with steroids!” and getting a law that gets around Minnesota’s testing laws.
It seems completely preposterous that Congress should spend even a minute on this topic, they’ve got some serious issues to deal with!
Last week the Obama administration told the Justice department not to enforce any of the controlled substance laws if a State had laws allowing medical marijuana. While I don’t believe in using illegal drugs under any circumstances, I do believe in State’s rights and thus support the administration’s position.
In the same fashion as the administration’s position on marijauna, I believe Congress should keep their noses out of the fight between the Williams’ and the NFL. The NFL has some really difficult and arcane rules in their zero tolerance drug policies. In the case of the Williams’, it’s hard to rationally argue that anyone should be accountable for every ingredient in each and every item they consume if there is no information about the product that should cause them concern.
It’s time for Congress to get their act together. Our country is in trouble and we have no leadership that seems to have any notion how to correct the problems. If this is really what they think rises to the level of requiring Congressional intervention it’s time to change out the entire lot!
I’d so much rather this particular Congress waste their time on this sort of nonsense. With the possible exception of designating September as “National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month”, everything they’ve done this year has eroded liberty and/or trashed the economy further.
OTOH, it doesn’t seem to matter what Congress does; Obama’s got how many unelected executives writing new taxes (“fees”) and regulations through the assorted federal regulatory agencies?
Okay, I’m gonna shock a bunch of folks here, but I honestly think Congress should look at this law; and believe there’s an actual constitutional reason to look into what happened.
First off, it’s a matter of contract law; which often overlaps state laws. Secondly, it’s a matter of labor law (The NFL’s now-debunked collective bargaining agreement). Also, there is an interstate commerce connection because the NFL, its players, officials, etc all pay taxes on the state level (Special “Jock Taxes”) and play in different states and need some sense of a level playing field set at the federal level.
Finally, it makes the NFLPA look like a bunch of hypocrites because while they’re standing behind the Williams, they are letting the other guys (Now subject to Louisiana law if memory serves) hang in the wind.
Honestly, when I first heard the news break on the court ruling, I thought to myself “Fascinating, the NFL’s CBA is exempt from the Commerce Clause.”