“It’s spinning out of control,’’ says Nader. “It’s profit at all costs, win at all costs, and often it’s damaging the health of the athletes.’’
Throughout his career, which has been punctuated by four presidential campaigns, Nader has helped form scores of public interest groups, including one called the League of Fans that advocates for sweeping changes in the sports world.
Items on its agenda include ridding youth sports of tyrannical coaches, discouraging taxpayer funding of stadiums, promoting broader participation in sports at schools and colleges, and outlawing fighting in pro hockey. Many of its concerns are being addressed in a 12-part manifesto that’s on the verge of completion.
In a sense, League of Fans is a misnomer. Nader envisions it as a think tank, watchdog and advocacy group, rather than a membership-based organization.
“Fans are hard to band together,’’ says Nader, who gave up on a fan-based initiative in the late 1970s when he could entice only about 1,100 people to pay dues.
Fans are better-informed about sports than voters are about public policy, and can become outraged by various slights, Nader said. “But their anger is very abbreviated when it’s kickoff time or the umpire says `Play ball.’’’
In a phone interview, Nader didn’t sound overly optimistic about forcing the major pro leagues to be less exploitive.
“They have anti-trust exemptions — they can engage in collusion,’’ he said. “They can wine and dine politicians, and give them special seats in their suites, and in the meantime it’s costing a family $300 or $400 to go to a game.’’
Professor Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economics expert at Smith College, questioned whether a Nader-inspired consumer movement could make much headway in influencing the major leagues’ policies or spreading the concept of community-owned teams.
