Friday, May 14, 2010

Weasel of the Week: Bud Selig

Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig is this week's Weasel, and this was an easy call.

Opponents of the immigration law signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer have asked Selig to move the 2011 All Star Game, scheduled for Chase Field in Phoenix, out of the area to protest the law, which allegedly allows law enforcement officials a legal right to ask for ID's & birth certificates for anyone they think is in their state illegally. They say it amounts to legalized racial profiling. They point to the NFL taking away a Super Bowl from Phoenix nearly 20 years ago because the state refused to recognize the birthday of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. as a national holiday. As we know, of course, Arizona finally got to host the big game 2 years ago, after it joined in with the rest of the nation to set aside the 3rd Monday in January to honor the late Dr. King.

Selig has never exactly been the sharpest tool in the shed, and all he did was point to statistics regarding MLB's success in minority hires in recent years, and the fact that he decided to stick his head in the sand on such a sensitive issue, one that has White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen already stating that he won't go if they keep the '11 game in Phoenix. A good percentage of major league players hail from Latin American countries like Venezuela & Mexico. The potential is there for a unnecessary confrontation with one or more of these players that would be an embarassment not only to the state of Arizona, but to MLB as well.

Selig has been too slow to react to other hot-topic issues during his tenure as commissioner, and even though he's already stated he'd leave office after the 2012 season, when his current term expires, it'd be a good idea to start forging a positive legacy for the next man to fill the office. Too often, Selig comes off as clueless and ill-informed, and of course, his legacy is letting an All Star Game end in a tie early in his administration. He needs to act now to change that legacy, otherwise he'll leave as the worst commissioner MLB has ever had.

Of course, what would you expect from a used car salesman who presents himself to be dumber than a bag of hammers?

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