This week, a group of people known for grabbing all they can from the public trough is having a grand event that attracts thousands of people and non-stop media coverage. No, I’m not talking about the Democratic National Convention, meeting this week in North Carolina.
I mean the National Football League, which kicks off its new season tonight.
Put aside for the moment the problem the league is having with football-induced dementia. As troubling as that is, you could argue that the players are moral free agents who can weigh the benefits of money and glory now against the risk of not being able to identify their loved ones two decades from now. (On that subject, here’s an interesting proposal that respects the laws of physics, if not popular appetites for more spectacular on-the-field collisions: Perhaps the NFL should impose a weight limit on players.)
I’m especially bothered by the fact that sports leagues, including the NFL, live off of taxpayer subsidies. These sweetheart deals distort the purpose of government and invite even more government meddling in our wallets, and thereby, our lives. Long before TARP, Solyndra, or the UAW bailout, there were taxpayer gimmies for the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and the like.
Earlier this year, I was on the losing end of a debate on whether state and local taxpayers ought to give a half-billion dollars to the NFL and its local franchise, the Vikings. The fact that a private team is getting taxpayer money to provide a private service is bad enough. To make matters worse, the team was not even required to disclose its financial records to the representatives of the people who were lavishing money on it.
Privacy rights for crony capitalists!
So as the NFL season starts, I think I’m going to engage in a personal boycott. Not that the league will miss me; it is by far the most popular sports league in the world. I’m just tired of the way it is corrupting us all. Granted, its popularity is a chicken/egg situation: Its popularity allows it to successfully lobby for mega-stadiums; mega-stadiums feed its popularity. But if, over time, people lose interest in the league, the political/sports abuse of government’s power to tax will trickle away. One reason public interest might decline, as I alluded to above, is a growing awareness of the toll that concussions, inevitably part of the game, take on players, families, and in some cases, taxpayers.
All that said, if you like the game, enjoy it; I’m no prohibitionist. At one time, I enjoyed the game. But no longer. I would be content to see it continue on a smaller scale, which is what would happen if we stopped subsidizing the league.
So instead of saying “Go Lions!” (they do play in my native state, after all), I’ll have a different cheer this fall and winter. Go ski areas! Go golf courses! Go bowling alleys, scouting organizations, churches, 4-H clubs! Here’s a cheer for any business or organization that provides diversions to us without dipping into the government till.
First published by the Michigan View.