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League of Fans Founded by Ralph Nader, League of Fans is a sports reform project working to improve sports by increasing awareness of the sports industry's relationship to society, exposing irresponsible business practices, ensuring accountability to fans, and encouraging the industry to contribute to societal well-being.Alerts is League of Fans' email announcements list. Alerts provides news, information, the actions of League of Fans and/or Ralph Nader regarding sports issues, and calls-to-action for subscribers. All email updates are either selected or written by League of Fans. League of Fans is motivated by people, just like you, who are upset with what has become of our sports and would like to make a difference. We work with concerned citizens, sports fans, civic groups and communities to increase awareness of the sports industry's relationship to society, influence a broad range of issues in sports at all levels and encourage the cooperative capacities that make the "sports powers-that-be" capable of helping, not just dominating, our society and culture. We often think of sports as outside the realm of everyday citizen concern. But the many benefits to society that sports can provide are sometimes undermined by a different set of values, often based on the quest for higher and higher profits at the expense of fans, taxpayers, communities, culture and social justice. Get Involved! Your involvement will improve sports for communities and fans, and encourage the sports industry to better contribute to societal well-being. |
Ralph Nader's letter to the editor on the secrecy of the Patriots' stadium deal legislation in Hartford Letter to the Editor: Hartford Courant - January 6, 1999Dear Editor:
Let's set the record straight on the availability of the legislation that lawmakers voted on to pass the Patriots' stadium deal. On the day of the vote before noon, we were informed that the legislation to be voted on in the afternoon was not available to some lawmakers themselves. Other lawmakers said they had the bill but not the amendments. No citizens trying to obtain a copy of the final draft of the legislation in order to read and react could obtain a copy, unless they had an inside contact. This is autocratic and disgraceful procedure.
As for the legislation being on-line after the vote in mid-December, no self-respecting professor of law or lawyer who is trying to make a careful judgement on a passed bill's contents would rely on a website copy. They would want an official paper copy of the bill from the appropriate office in the legislature. There are too many scanning errors, not to mention the confusing paragraphing and sub-paragraphing that sometimes can be verbal trip-wires. The constitutional experts we were consulting wanted an official copy and that was not forthcoming for days after passage.
All in all, the whole sordid and largely secret rush to judgement, together with the farce of a legislative hearing that even excluded an officially invited expert witness, economist Andrew Zimbalist of Smith College, who waited and waited and was never recognized by his invitor, incoming House Speaker, Moira Lyons, reflects the top politicians' belief that the people of Connecticut are too powerless to do anything to stop this gravy train. We shall see and so shall they.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
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