[Comfortably Numb]

The Official Olympics Thread
English, Welsh and Scottish flags banned at Olympics.

Banner by 4N6 DNA

[sunnykerr]

I've added the tags and updated our Thread Guide with the new link. I hope you don't mind, Emily.

Meanwhile, we were discussing this story on the last thread:

INFLUENCE GAME: Youth football helmet legislation stokes lobbying effort A major football helmet manufacturer has sharply increased its Washington lobbying this year, responding to a congressional push to come up with new safety standards for children’s football helmets. Riddell, which makes helmets for both kids and adults and is the official helmet of the NFL, spent $80,000 in the first quarter of this year lobbying on new legislation that could lead to federal regulation of youth football helmets. The company, which has come under criticism from one of the bill’s sponsors for claiming that its product reduces concussions, had spent almost nothing on lobbying last year. At the same time, the group that sets voluntary standards for helmets, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, last month hired a Washington lobbyist for the first time since the group’s establishment in 1969. The group is funded by license fees paid by manufacturers. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., introduced the Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act in March. The bill would give the industry nine months to come up with new standards that address concussion risks and the specific needs of young players. Failing that, the Consumer Product Safety Commission would write mandatory standards. About 3 million children ages 6-14 play organized youth tackle football, according to USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in this country. Sports concussions among young people have become a big issue in schools across the country, and not just in football. About 135,000 children between the ages of 5 and 18 are treated in emergency rooms each year for sports- or recreation-related concussions and other head injuries. Schools, cities and states are taking steps to reduce these injuries, and some are barring student athletes who show signs of concussions from competing again until cleared by a health care professional. But the search for a concussion-proof helmet has proven elusive, and there’s a consensus that concussions can’t be eliminated from football. Last year, the NFL acknowledged that the lack of a perfect helmet was a factor in its decision to impose hefty fines and the threat of suspensions to cut down on dangerous hits at the professional level. In a statement about its lobbying, Riddell noted that football concussions at all levels have become a leading health concern and touted the effectiveness of its products. “We believe it is only prudent to follow this legislation and to help members (of Congress), and their staffs, better understand the leadership role that Riddell has played in designing the best head protection we can manufacture for athletes who play football,” Riddell said. The company said it is still studying the legislation and hasn’t yet taken a position on it. Udall has assailed helmet makers including Riddell for what he called “misleading safety claims and deceptive practices,” and urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. He specifically criticized Riddell for claiming that its Riddell Revolution football helmet reduces the risk of concussions. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said he agreed that Udall raised serious concerns, and that the commission “will determine what action by this agency may be appropriate.” Riddell has called Udall’s allegations “unfounded and unfair.” One of the bill’s provisions would make it a crime to sell any sporting equipment that makes false or misleading claims about safety benefits. Last week, a study by Virginia Tech researchers that looked at the effectiveness of helmets in reducing concussions gave the Riddell Revolution Speed the only five-star rating. (That helmet is distinct from the Riddell Revolution helmet, which got a four-star, or “very good”, rating.) But the study was limited to helmets for high school and up, and it also gave Riddell’s VSR-4 helmet, which was worn by nearly 40 percent of NFL players last year, its second-lowest rating. Riddell stopped selling the VSR-4 last year. As the helmet issue picked up steam this year, Riddell hired a lobbying firm that includes former Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., and two former Capitol Hill staffers to protect the company’s interests. That firm, in turn, hired lawyer Kevin G. Curtis, who worked for more than 20 years on the Senate Commerce Committee — the panel that will take up the helmet bill. The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, known as NOCSAE, hired Locke Lord Strategies LP, according to a lobbying registration filed last month. NOCSAE, which includes physicians and sporting goods industry officials, sets voluntary test standards for football helmets and other sporting goods. But the group’s website notes that manufacturers test their own helmets and that “NOCSAE does not possess a surveillance force to ensure compliance with the standards.” NOCSAE’s executive director and general counsel, Mike Oliver, said his group hasn’t taken a position on the bill. “NOCSAE has no experience in D.C., and my personal experience has been limited and ineffective, but with the scope of the legislation, it seemed wise for us to get someone involved who can make sure we don’t miss anything and who has experience in dealing with Congress,” Oliver said. “We share the same goal — to do everything we can to make sure athletes are as safe as possible when they take the field.” “We agree more must be done to protect athletes,” he added. “This is why NOCSAE has invested more than $3 million since 2000 toward developing a deeper understanding of sports-related concussions. We are supporting research by the foremost experts in sports medicine and science.” NOCSAE’s board of directors includes representatives from groups such as the American College of Sports Medicine, the American College Health Association, the Athletic Equipment Managers Association, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, an industry trade group. The nonprofit research and advocacy group Consumers Union has lobbied for passage of the bill. “Your bill will help to make helmets more protective of the millions of American children who play football every year,” the group wrote in a letter to Udall. Tom Cove, president and chief executive of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, said his group has concerns about the federal government getting into regulating sporting goods. Cove recently gave a presentation on the bill to member companies and officials from the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations. He said his message about the bill was that “it was important and far-reaching and serious, and that it had implications far beyond football helmets.” “The bill language gets into areas that are new for us in terms of legislative oversight of our standards,” Cove said. “So we’re taking it extremely seriously.”

Source

So, as you were...

[Comfortably Numb]

Thanks!

With so many injuries, I would think new safe gear needs to be developed.

[sunnykerr]

Well, it could be a violence in sports issues as well.

All the equipement in the world doesn't help if the players act like maniacs.

And you're quite welcome. It takes time to remember everything.

[Comfortably Numb]

LINK


Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Unethical agents could get prison

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas lawmakers are moving to crack down on unethical sports agents and their "runners," threatening a felony conviction and up to 10 years in prison for luring college athletes into contracts and deals that cause them to lose their eligibility.

Legislators say the crackdown would give Texas the toughest sports agent law in the country.

"Far too many times, agents have caused havoc for athletes and universities and walked away unscathed," said Rep. Harold Dutton, a Houston Democrat pushing the measure.

A review last year by The Associated Press found that most states hadn't revoked or suspended a single license or invoked penalties of any sort. Neither had the Federal Trade Commission. Texas was one of the few states that consistently enforced the law, assessing more than $17,000 in fines over two years.




The Senate passed a version of the bill on Monday. Only a minor difference in what agents report when registering with the state must be worked out before the bill is sent to Gov. Rick Perry to consider signing into law.

Texas and most states already have laws regulating agents and contact with athletes. Current Texas law makes a violation punishable by fines, revocation of a license and a possible misdemeanor conviction. Adding stiff prison time puts muscle into the law and would make agents think twice, said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

A review last year by The Associated Press found that most states hadn't revoked or suspended a single license or invoked penalties of any sort. Neither had the Federal Trade Commission, which was given oversight authority by Congress seven years ago. Texas was one of the few states that consistently enforced the law, assessing more than $17,000 in fines over two years.

Dutton and West say their bills also go after the so-called "runners," third-party contacts agents hire to meet with players and their families. Runners sometimes are students who live in the same building or go to the same classes as the athletes.

"The athlete doesn't know if they are talking to another student or a runner for an agent," said University of Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds. "If we can get those kinds of things stopped, it would be a benefit to the student and a benefit to the university."

West said runners and agents sometimes start eyeing athletes as early as middle school and try to steer their families into future deals.

The bills require agents to post a $50,000 bond with the state and be certified with a national professional sports association. Agents would be banned from offering or providing anything of value to the athlete or their family before the athlete completes their college eligibility.

The bill also requires individuals, not corporations, to register as agents, making sure someone is held accountable, Dutton said.

Dutton said the ban on contact does not affect situations where athletes choose to turn professional before they expire their eligibility, so long as the agent did not have improper contact before the athlete makes an official decision.

Earlier this month, Texas basketball players Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph all decided to leave college to enter the NBA draft.

Dodds, who is not allowed to specifically endorse a bill, said athletic directors across the country would support giving states more power to enforce the law.

"If we can get those kinds of things stopped, it would be a benefit to the student and a benefit to the university," Dodds said.

Last year, the NCAA hit USC with a two-year bowl ban, four years' probation, loss of scholarships and forfeits and an entire years' games for improper benefits to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush dating to the Trojans' 2004 national championship season.

The NCAA said Bush received lavish gifts from sports marketers hoping to sign him. The men paid for everything from hotel stays and a rent-free home where Bush's family apparently lived, to limousine rides and clothes.
_________________________________________________________

I like this because kids should be encouraged to stay in school. Athletes are treated like stars and when they get hurt or lose they are tossed out like garbage.

Crazy that they are scouting in middle school though.

[sunnykerr]

American football is the only professional sport in North America that requires its athletes to have gone through university. And I'm really not a fan of that sport, but I'm definitely a fan of hearing its athletes when they are interviewed.

They're not all rocket scientists, of course, but the majority of them seem to be able to construct full sentences that aren't 98% sports platitutdes. It's pretty interesting.

So, yeah, I would fully support any regulations that require athletes to complete higher education.

[Comfortably Numb]

American football players have to complete university? I didn't know that.

I just don't like how children are groomed to be athletes rather than groomed to be student athletes.

[sunnykerr]

And by "American football players," I mean people who play American football. So that includes the CFL. But, at least, that's what I've been told. They are recruited from universities, so they are expected to graduate from universities.

If we stopped idolizing athletes as though they were superhuman, their salaries might adjust accordingly. And then people might thing studying seriously would be a good complement to an athletic career.

[Comfortably Numb]

Oh, I am a sports dolt so I had no idea.

So do you believe in salary capping?

[sunnykerr]

Of course, I believe in salary capping. It's the only way to keep sports fair.

Even with salary capping, the disparity between what teams can pay their players is already so disgusting. I mean, how many times does the Habs's yearly salary fit inside the Yankees' total yearly salary?

And I also believe that money has destroyed a lot of the joy of sport. Because now they're opening franchises in parts of the continent that couldn't care less, but some rich guy somewhere wanted a team (who knows why). And the athletes probably still love the game, but with expansion comes a lowering of the general talent, I believe. And, conversely, because athletes make so much, you also get doping to keep competitive.

And because they're rich and attractive to some, these athletes are then in a position where they can prey on vulnerable women, on vulnerable people period. They become the target of unsavoury characters as well.

[Comfortably Numb]

Interesting thought. I just wonder if salary capping is fair in any industry? Or should be let the best make the most. But I hadn't thought of how doping might play into that.

[sunnykerr]

But it's not fair either. Not when one country's money isn't worth as much as the next.

[Comfortably Numb]

Sure I was only looking nationally not internationally when the gap would widen the most.

[sunnykerr]

How would the gap widen nationally?

The only real difference I've ever noticed is across borders, particularly when the dollar has a huge disparity. It's an advantage for us right now, but it didn't use to be that way.

[Comfortably Numb]

Looking at sport to sport within one country.