Oregon Law Review : Vol. 89, No. 2, p.581-622 : Truly Sovereign at Last: C.B.C. Distribution v. MLB AM and the Redefinition of the Concept of Baseball
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Date
2010
Authors
Nathanson, Mitchell
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon Law School
Abstract
As this Article discusses, post–World War II societal changes,
some directly impacting baseball and others with an indirect, but no
less forceful, impact, have led to a societal and, therefore, judicial,
separation of the traditional connection between Major League
Baseball and the larger, more symbolic, concept of “baseball,” all of
which led up to the C.B.C. Distribution decisions that sought to
protect the game but no longer entrusted Major League Baseball with
this role. The rise of the Players Association, the diminishing status
of club owners as a result of the corporate revolution of the sixties,
and the public demonization of both that occurred as a result of nearly
four decades of labor unrest (including, most notably, the cancellation
of the 1994 World Series) will all be discussed to show that, although
the symbolic pull of the concept of baseball may still be as strong as
ever, the power of Major League Baseball as a cultural force is clearly
on the wane. As a result, although federal courts are just as likely
now as they ever were to alter the legal rules of the game to protect
baseball, the C.B.C. Distribution decisions perhaps signal a shift in judicial deference toward Major League Baseball, as opposed to the
game itself. From now on, perhaps the federal judiciary will be more
likely to rule as the C.B.C. Distribution courts did and to recognize
that the sovereign nation of baseball is truly sovereign, not even
answerable to Major League Baseball itself. For decades, such a
conclusion would have been unthinkable. Now, perhaps, it has finally
become a reality.
Description
42 p.
Keywords
Major League Baseball (Organization), Baseball -- Law and legislation -- United States
Citation
89 Or. L. Rev. 581 (2010)