GOOD SPORTS / BAD SPORTS

League of Fans - July 8, 2003
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1. Stadium Naming Rights
2. Gender-biased Pay
3. Title IX
4. Performance-enhancing Drugs
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* GOOD SPORTS *

Positive news from San Francisco regarding stadium naming rights. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently blocked the sale of naming rights for Candlestick Park (Again!).

No 'Stick shift - 49er's renaming plan stymied
San Francisco Chronicle - June 27, 2003
"Stick with the 'Stick. At least that's the official policy in San Francisco now, as the name Candlestick Park won another reprieve Thursday -- perhaps only temporarily -- when supervisors rejected plans to award the 49ers football team the naming rights to the city-owned stadium, arguing that they don't want to attach a corporate name to the public facility."...

What you can do to help:
Thank San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez for his opposition to selling naming rights for Candlestick Park. His email address is [email protected].

Ralph Nader and League of Fans release "Selling Out the Fans and Taxpayers: A summary of current stadium and arena naming rights deals" (10/10/02).

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* BAD SPORTS *

Gender equity is lagging behind at Wimbledon. Even when the women's singles tournament is more popular (with higher TV ratings) than the men's, the women can't get equal pay. Serena Williams, the women's champion, took home $66,800 (7%) less than men's champion Roger Federer.

Less pay for more popular play
CNN/Money - June 20, 2003
"When it comes to professional tennis, the women are beating the stuffing out of the men in the match that counts -- television ratings -- but you would never know it from their paychecks."...

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* GOOD SPORTS *

Speaking of gender equity in sports, there was good news last month as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the National Wrestling Association and four other athletic groups claiming that Title IX promoted women's collegiate sports programs at the expense of male athletic teams.

Lawsuit Against Title IX Dismissed
Washington Post - June 12, 2003
"A federal judge in Washington yesterday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the enforcement of Title IX, rejecting a claim that the law promoted women's collegiate sports programs at the expense of male athletic teams."...

League of Fans joins with over 100 other organizations in urging Congress to reject efforts to roll-back 30 years of progress for women and girls in sports (5/21/03)

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* BAD SPORTS *

Unfortunately, very little has been done to combat the use of performance-enhancing drugs within Major League Baseball in the aftermath of the Spring Training death of Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Steve Bechler that resulted from the use of an ephedra-containing product. Now come reports from the Dominican Republic, the source of almost a quarter of players signed by Major League teams, of the rampant use of performance-enhancing substances designed for animals by teenage Dominican baseball prospects.

Injecting Hope -- and Risk: Dominican Prospects Turn to Supplements Designed for Animals
Washington Post - June 23, 2003
..."Many Dominican players appear to have little idea what they are injecting -- only that it can make them stronger. Lino Ortiz, for example, told his father just before he died that he had injected a drug called Caballin into his left arm, though family and friends believe he was referring to the substance's street name and really meant Diamino."...

Bechler's parents to sue Cytodyne, makers of the ephedra product Xenadrine RFA-1
Associated Press - June 2, 2003
..."Ephedrine use is banned by the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee and the NFL, but not major league baseball. Last week, Illinois became the first state to ban the substance."...

A deadly game of politics
ESPN The Magazine - March 18, 2003
..."Right now, one of the only people working the room on behalf of sports is Ralph Nader, with his group, League of Fans. Nader's League has called for a ban on ephedra and a total overhaul of the DSHEA. 'Our citizens should never be used as guinea pigs for dietary supplements with no guarantee of product safety,' Nader says. 'How many more ephedra-related seizures, strokes, heart attacks and deaths have to occur before our leaders take action?'"...

Ralph Nader and League of Fans urge leaders to take real action against ephedra and dietary supplement law (3/11/03)

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GOOD SPORTS / BAD SPORTS is an email bulletin of recent news items and suggested actions regarding issues in the world of sports. It goes out regularly to League of Fans "Alerts" listserv subscribers.

Help spread the word! Send copies of this message to your friends and join the growing movement of people who are fed up with what the sports industry has become and want to do something about it. If you would like to add yourself to the "Alerts" list, sign up at alerts_signup.html.

Founded by Ralph Nader, the mission of League of Fans is to improve sports by working as a sports industry watchdog to increase awareness of the industry's relationship to society, expose irresponsible business practices, ensure accountability to fans, and encourage the sports industry to contribute to societal well-being.

To find out more about League of Fans, visit www.leagueoffans.org or write to [email protected].

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