CrispAds Blog Ads




Friday, December 02, 2005

Sen. Specter Defends Terrell Owens

Why do politicians continue to inject themselves into issues that they have no business involving themselves in? I have often written about my irritation with politicians grandstanding about steroids in baseball. And now Senator Arlen Spector has upped the ante.

For those who are not familiar with the Terrell Owens situation/fiasco/drama, let me quickly summarize. Terrell Owens is a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles and is generally considered one of the best players at his position. And in a world filled with prima donna professional athletes, Terrell Owens stands out for his egotism. Over the past year, Owens has publically criticized the quarterback of his team, his coach, and the Eagles organization. (For a sampling check out this interview at ESPN.com)

Well, put yourself in his shoes. If you were publically critical of the top producer in your company, told your boss to shut up, and then went on record about how much your company sucked, what might the response be? As we all know, that would be the end of your employment. Not so in Terrell Owens case. The Eagles have suspended Terrell for four games and do not intend on letting him play anymore this year. And on top of this, he is still getting paid. Terrell Owens and his agent Drew Rosenhaus decided to appeal this decision to the NFL Players Union but were denied. So into this context comes the esteemed U.S. Senator Arlen Spector with this gem about the suspension.
"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws"
Spector then went on to say that he was considering bringing the matter before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Um....exsqueeze me?!?!?!?!? The Senate Judiciary Committee???

So let me get this straight Arlen, if I may be so informal. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which, by the way, you happen to chair, has been rather busy lately what with the small matter of the nomination of two U.S. Supreme Court Justices. But no matter, you think that an appropriate to discuss would be the behavior of a highly paid professional athlete who has thrown a temper tantrum and has been rightly punished as a results. Arlen, are you stark raving mad?

Spector eventually backed off this rash suggestion with another doozy. Yes, perhaps the Senate Judiciary Committee is a bit busy. So maybe the Justice Department should handle this case.

And people wonder why the American people have lost trust in their politicians.