Congress Hears Boos Over Sports Probes
Another Congressional hearing today puts heads of three pro sports in hot seat.
WASHINGTON D.C. Feb.. 26, 2008 — -- In recent months, C-Span viewers could be forgiven for thinking that they were watching ESPN instead.
With the Roger Clemens hearing, the investigation into the New England Patriots cheating scandal, and the uproar over the NFL forbidding Super Bowl broadcasts in churches, Congress is spending a lot of time on sports lately. And critics are claiming that with issues such as the Iraq War, a slumping economy, and a devastating housing crisis, the nation's lawmakers are wasting their time, to say nothing of taxpayer dollars.
Even Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., regretted holding the Clemens hearing.
But that hasn't stopped his colleagues. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is using words like stonewalling — usually reserved for major league obstructionists like the White House — to describe the NFL's lack of cooperation into his Judiciary Committee's probe into whether the New England Patriots cheated.
Specter has also vowed to personally sit in on any grillings by his committee to make sure no softball questions are thrown at Patriot officials.
And today, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Trade and Consumer Protection has summoned NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, baseball commissioner Bud Selig and NBA commissioner David Stern for yet another hearing.
"I think that leagues should police themselves," said USA Today columnist and ABC News consultant Christine Brennan. "I understand how senators and congressmen and women can get all up in arms about sports because everyone does — that's the nature of sports. But I think they should leave the cheering to fans in some of these instances."
Waxman's hearing on Feb. 13 was a remarkable spectacle featuring a dozen members of Congress grilling Roger Clemens and his main accuser to determine whether Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. The panel is now deciding whether to refer a possible perjury case to the Department of Justice.
Some committee members called the Clemens hearing a waste of time.
