To what extent is Politics involved in Sports?

Answer 1

EVERYWHERE...off the field, its all politics. Go and be on the board of your local little league if you don't beleive me...and you will see how riddiculous it has become.

Answer 2

Umm, not to a very great extent. Politicians have recently gotten involved in the drug issue, but that's a recent thing, and I question it's true effect.

There are other ties, like the President throwing out the first pitch, players, such as Kemp, moving on from a pro sports career to politics (Didn't Heath Shuler just run for something too?), baseball's anti-trust clause, and the idea that an incumbent president never won re-election after the Skins lost the previous game (although my boy W changed that last time). But those are all loose ties.

So I'd say very little.

Or do you mean politics, like the politics of getting along with eachother and scratching people's back and the like? If you mean like that, then I'd say it's fairly rampant throughout all levels of sports.

I took the question to mean politicians and their politics.

Answer 3

Whenever Congress really wants to get MLB's attention, it threatens to litigate away the anti-trust exemption. Which never really happens, of course, but MLB will do almost anything not to lose that -- it can't be had for love nor money -- and so then Seligula sits up and pays attention.

Answer 4

Too much, national congresional hearings about a problem the police should be handling (illigal drugs). Government needs to stay out.

Answer 5

behind the scenes stuff i would bet more so than outright invovlement,money for stadiums,where the park is built,taxes,when new teams are created politicians probably start passin out favors for their cities consideration.