Allan "Bud" Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball, has heard the jokes about his former profession as a used car salesman many a time. Ever since he was appointed commissioner, he has been criticized for being slow to react on a number of issues, the implication being that he was, well, in over his head.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York & Washington, all 30 teams wore special American flag patches on their uniforms, or other symbols to mark the occasion. The New York Mets, hosting the Chicago Cubs in the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game, wanted to wear the special caps that they'd requested 10 years ago to honor the New York Police & Fire Departments and Port Authority. Selig, speaking through former Mets & Yankees manager Joe Torre, now a VP/Baseball Operations for MLB, denied the request, citing the "unamity" of MLB policy regarding uniforms for today.
Unsurprisingly, that has caused some ill feelings with commentators online. While the Mets will respect MLB's mandates, they have taken some heat as well, as their detractors felt they cowed too easily, considering their city was the hardest hit and has been the epicenter of media attention this past week. Torre, himself a native New Yorker, got heat for being the messenger relaying Selig's ruling, but at the end of the day, the fault lies with Selig for making another boneheaded decision.
The game was originally marked on the calendar as a matinee, but MLB made the decision to move the game to ESPN's primetime berth some weeks back, and perhaps the anniversary was the motivating factor. However, for Selig to turn around and decide that the Mets couldn't bring their tribute caps out of retirement, preferring they would conform with the rest of the teams, well, that has all the hallmarks of being a weasel, doesn't it? If you're going to pay tribute to the real heroes of NYC, 10 years later, why not go all the way? On Yahoo!, at least one person cited MLB's merchandising contract with New Era. That may be a minor factor at the end of the day, but when it comes to decisions like this, Selig has had his share of lemons, and this falls in with them.
Selig isn't the only tool here.
ReplyDeleteNFL's Roger Goodell threatened to fine Lance Briggs for his plan to honor the 9/11 victims. Briggs wanted to wear gloves and shoes that are against the NFL's in-game dress code policy; they are made to look like the American flag.
Both Selig and Goodell could take a flying leap for their compelete insensitivity to a dark day in US history.
Why should entertainment have to be marked for commemorization? We had more than enough of that in every other aspect. Maybe everyone should have just stayed home, shut off their tvs and cried. Is that what you think? This whole 10 year anniversary crap was nothing more than a cheap marketing gimmick, exploited by corporate America and politicians alike. It should have been completely ignored.
ReplyDeleteCrhymethinc: Do you actually believe that a tragedy that rocked not only New York & Washington, but the entire country, was being exploited? Please!
ReplyDelete10 days after the tragedy, the Mets & Braves played the first pro sports game in NYC since that day, starting the healing process. In the minds of most people in NYC, if they opted to mourn in private, as you suggest, they'd be sending a message that they're leaving themselves open to another, perhaps more brutal attack.
Magicdog: I was not aware of Goodell going all Judge Roy Bean on Lance Briggs. Again, there are going to be those people that believe it's all about a merchandising contract with certain manufacturers that the NFL and/or MLB deems more important to uphold than doing something for the country as a whole.