Use the Hums & MacLean

1. Describe the role/duties of the Commissioner. What do they include? What do they not include? The Commissioner of a professional sports league plays a dual role as an employee and boss. The owners of a team have hiring/firing powers of the Commissioner, but the Commissioner can inflict disciplinary consequences on the owners.

The Commissioner in professional sports has the power to approve player contracts, resolve disputes between players and teams or between teams in general, resolves disputes between players or teams and the league, and handle discipline matters that may involve players, teams, front-office personnel, owners, or anyone else involved. The Commissioner also has the power to make and implement rules, granted that it is in the best interest of the league. A lot of power may lie in the hands of the Commissioner, though not all final decisions are determined by this position.

The owners ultimately have the final say in a matter, such as franchise relocation, salary bargains, facilities, etc. 2. Who are the current Commissioners of the Big Four? Identify by sports organization and full name. Then, select one and provide a 2-3 sentence overview of the person’s background. a. Major League Baseball – Bud Selig b. National Football League – Roger Goodell c. National Basketball Association – David Stern d. National Hockey League – Gary Bettman Bud Selig grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as part of a Jewish family. He served in the armed forces as a young man and later became part owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, a

team in which he is credited for keeping alive in baseball. He began as acting commissioner for Major League Baseball in 1992 and officially earned the title of “Commissioner” in 1998, planning to retire in 2012. 3. What is the role of a Players Association? How does it function? Where do they get their money from? A Players Association acts like a union. The role of a Players Association is to protect the rights of the players. Players are represented when it comes to salary, hours, working conditions, or disputes/problems that may arise within their respective team.

Players Associations also handle insurance, retirement, and charitable causes. The Players Association works with the league to ensure that guidelines are being met for the players. They get their money from the union dues that the players pay to be a part of this association. 4. Discuss and describe the responsibilities of player representatives. Player representatives are responsible for representing their teammates in matters relating to legal issues, salary issues, and the political side of the league. Representatives are negotiators in salary agreements, ensuring that players are being treated and paid fairly by the league.

When there are disputes and disagreements in areas of concern, the representatives are the voices of reason, acting as the mediator between the players and the league. 5. Review MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. What type of information is contained in this document? Identify three pieces of information that you found of interest. In the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, there is information contained from various aspects such as contracts, negotiations, scheduling of the league, salaries, trade rules, discipline, benefits, anything that might concern the player and the league.

One piece of information I found interesting in this document is the minimum salary agreement. Basically, players are paid a set rate for each day they provide service with their team. Another piece of information that interested me was the section about travel expenses. Professional baseball players get the royal treatment—first-class, meals, the works. Also, the spring training allowances section was interesting as well. Players get an “allowance” to provide for them during the spring training part of their season. 6. Review MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement.

Discuss and describe the type of information contained in this document. The MLB Joint Drug Agreement states the rules pertaining to use of drugs and the illegal drugs for the league. There are a variety of drugs listed as illegal, as well as the consequences for a positive drug test. Drugs of abuse, steroids, and stimulants are included on this list. The agreement also discusses testing procedures and what negates a positive result. There are different treatments available and consequences resulting in salary retention for positive drug use. 7. Develop a pictorial graph of the governance structure for Major League Baseball.

I did not understand exactly what was needed here. 8. If you worked for Coca-Cola or Anheuser-Busch in their marketing department and were looking for an athlete to endorse your product, who would be at the top of your list and why? Who would be at the bottom of your list and why. Derek Jeter would be an athlete who would be at the top of my list to endorse my product. Jeter has a clean image and is not the center of scandals. He is an athlete who has never been accused of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, and he is popular among the professional sports world.

He also plays for a successful team and has a World Series ring. He is a role model for many young kids and people would want to buy a product endorsed by him for these reasons. Tiger Woods would be at the bottom of my list due to the recent scandal he has been involved in regarding his personal affairs and problems. His image and reputation have been drained and dragged through the mud. His name is no longer popular in the sports world (not for positive things, anyway). People may tend to shy away from the product he would be endorsing because they do not want to support him due to his image and public scandal.

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