NBA vs. Congress

[Mr. E]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/11970529

Congress is questioning the NBA regarding the fairness of their rule that players must be at least 19 years old and out of school for a year.

Personally, I'm in favor of this. I know that guys like Kobe & Garnett were ready, but for every one of them there are more who aren't ready.

Regardless of how you may feel, this part of of NBA president Joel Litvin's response to a letter from a Congressman from Tennessee is just too freaking awesome:

He wrote that many employers require job candidates to have post-high school experience, and that the U.S. Constitution sets minimum ages for House members, senators and the president. Given that, "we do not understand your objection" to the rule, Litvin wrote.

So what do you think - the age limit good or bad for the NBA?

[kz1m9w]

This poll is difficult because I don't think the two choices are mutually exclusive. I think the rule as it stands is both good for the NBA, but at the same time unfair to young players.

But if I have to choose only one, I think the rule is unfair to young players.

It is true that there are probably an abundance of failures for every success story, but that's true in other aspects of life and I believe it does not justify excluding adults from seeking an occupation arbitrarily based upon their age.

Assuming we are talking about adults here (and I personally believe a 19 year-old qualifies as an adult regardless of how un-adult-like some can behave), I think people should be allowed to succeed or fail based on their merit.

[Azull]

I think it should be upped to 2 years out of school or, for International Players, at least 4 years on a pro team. The age requirement itself should be dropped however. Right now, if a player graduates at 17..they are unlikly to be draft eligiable when the people he graduated with are.

[fisterkev]

Of course no one asks why it is that the federal government is concerning itself with matters such as these... I seem to have forgotten which constitutional article or amendment covers minimum ages for sports players. Contraceptives for horses and age limits for sports players, yeah, that's what we pay them for.

I suppose there's really nothing left that this government won't get its fingers into.

[moofs]

Congress's powers are enumerated in Section Eight:

Section 8: The Congress shall have power

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

To establish post offices and post roads;

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

To provide and maintain a navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;—And

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

If the first doesn't catch it, the second surely does.
They call major business leaders to testify before them on things all the time.
That's before even considering that sports and media (sports including portions of media) are two of our larger exports.
Congress has interest and are within their rights.

[Ribalding]

I just don't get how a congressman from Tennessee has any standing to investigate the NBA. Tennessee? Really? The home of the Grizzlies? Tell ya what, congressman - when your team makes the playoffs, you call your hearings. When your 'state team' quits selling all-star forwards for magic beans and a six pack of suck, you go ahead and legislate your a55 off. Knock yourself out.

Until then?

Shut it.

[moofs]

aaaagh ok ok ok ok ok amended
"they have the right, but no apparent viable reason (other than grandstanding) to bother with it in this case"

either nix "interest" or insert "grandstanding" or something like that from my last post.

[wadero]

I say there should be no age limit. Let the teams do the reasearch on the player and if they sign him and he fails they have no one to blame but themselves, but if he doesnt fail they have a young player locked up for years.

[fisterkev]

"To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;"

You know, I have a sneaky suspicion that the Founders intended this to apply to things like regulating tariffs, deciding which goods a merchant would be able to sell to a foreign power, and the like. If you are going to apply it to BS like this, then you can apply it to anything. You are reaching very, very far with this one, and it is interpretations like this that have the federal govt taking over auto companies and banks, with nary a batted eye.

You must remind yourself that the Constitution is supposed to be a *limiting* document, not an "enabling" document. Two centuries of chipping away at that idea have brought us to... this. And a country half-full of people who think that the federal government is supposed to dominate our lives.

[Munchlaxatives]

There's times guys need to go to college. See: Gerald Green. There's times guys need to stay in college. See: Darius Washington. And then there's times where college doesn't help a player out. See: ...well, the best players in the league the past decade.

I could see an application process being adopted...a player would have to get a minimum grade from NBA scouts to be declared eligible.

[Meatcookie]

And then there's times where college doesn't help a player out. See: ...well, the best players in the league the past decade.

College always helps out. The best players are making a great deal of money. They better be financially smart enough to make sure that money lasts. Being dumb didn't help out Mike Tyson. Every future athlete should take at least one accounting class. I think the NBA requires rookies to attend a few seminars on the matter.

[Ribalding]

"To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;"

You know, I have a sneaky suspicion that the Founders intended this to apply to things like regulating tariffs, deciding which goods a merchant would be able to sell to a foreign power, and the like. If you are going to apply it to BS like this, then you can apply it to anything. You are reaching very, very far with this one, and it is interpretations like this that have the federal govt taking over auto companies and banks, with nary a batted eye.

You must remind yourself that the Constitution is supposed to be a *limiting* document, not an "enabling" document. Two centuries of chipping away at that idea have brought us to... this. And a country half-full of people who think that the federal government is supposed to dominate our lives.

Say hi to Ron Paul for me.

And quit saying "nary".

[College Boy]

And then there's times where college doesn't help a player out. See: ...well, the best players in the league the past decade.

College always helps out. The best players are making a great deal of money. They better be financially smart enough to make sure that money lasts. Being dumb didn't help out Mike Tyson. Every future athlete should take at least one accounting class. I think the NBA requires rookies to attend a few seminars on the matter.

College doesn't make you financially literate. However, I do believe it is in the best interest of the players to go to college for at least one year. Then again, I do realize that some players would be as equally effective without college. So I like the idea of an application process. Good idea.

[fisterkev]

Say hi to Ron Paul for me.

And quit saying "nary".

Sure, next time I see him I'll tell him a pinko named Ribalding at a basketball site said hi.

Let me guess, you're not real big on limited government, federalism, and the republican form of government that the Founders gave to us? I suppose you're more of the Marx / Lenin oligarchist bent?

Nary. I might just make that a tagline...

[jove9]

Say hi to Ron Paul for me.

And quit saying "nary".

Sure, next time I see him I'll tell him a pinko named Ribalding at a basketball site said hi.

Let me guess, you're not real big on limited government, federalism, and the republican form of government that the Founders gave to us? I suppose you're more of the Marx / Lenin oligarchist bent?

Nary. I might just make that a tagline...

I just wanted to jump in and clear something up. If you actually read Marx and Lenin, they aren't in favor of oligarchy. The point of the proletarian revolution is to END oligarchy and create, for the first time in history, real democracy.

/thread derail

[fisterkev]

Ha! And it's worked How many times it's been tried? It *always* leads to oligarchy and dictatorship. What it fails to take into account, and what "democracy" in its purest form does not account for, is the fact that as soon as the majority realizes that it can vote itself the spoils of others' work - taxing the "rich", the bourgeoise, in order to make everyone "equal" - those "rich", who also happen to be the employers and producers, find ways to disappear, the society begins to crumble, and an oligarchy or dictatorship is inevitable at that point. The Greeks found this out the hard way (ask Solon what he had to say about it).

Communism, and its terrible method (socialism) of appropriating and distributing wealth and resources, does not work. It never has, and it never will, because it denies the basic core what it means to be human. Whether it is tyranny of the few or tyranny of the many, it is still tyranny, and it will end as all tyrannies inevitably end: in ruins.

But whatever. People forget how these things work, and the schools and universities nowadays are interested in nothing more than indoctrination, so every once in awhile we have to go through it again and relearn the hard lessons. We'll see how it turns out... Maybe this time it'll be different?

In short: no, Congress should not be telling the NBA how old players must be. Out of their lane. The fate of civilization depends upon it.

[Munchlaxatives]

And then there's times where college doesn't help a player out. See: ...well, the best players in the league the past decade.

College always helps out. The best players are making a great deal of money. They better be financially smart enough to make sure that money lasts. Being dumb didn't help out Mike Tyson. Every future athlete should take at least one accounting class. I think the NBA requires rookies to attend a few seminars on the matter.

College sure didn't help OJ Mayo.

[moofs]

Rather than responding (as I want to do), a simple plea: Aah someone please lock this torturous thread!



http://www.newser.com/off-the-grid/post ... o-you.html

[Ribalding]

I apologize for feeding the Paul-ites. It was foolish.

ibtl

[fisterkev]

Not that it really matters, but since you appear to be interested in who I voted for, I held my nose and voted McCain this time around. Didn't get to do the primaries as I was in Iraq when they were held. But it was more a vote against the socialist than for McCain as I am a conservative and he is not, but he had the best chance to win and would have been light-years better than what we have now. Paul is a nut on foreign policy, though he's spot on on most domestic areas, but even if he was solid all around I still wouldn't piss a vote away on him. Elections are really just selection of the lesser evil, but I want the vote to count.

So, did you go Green, Communist, or socialist-lite (Democrat)?