I did not watch The Super Bowl, 2016. The
third-most-watched television show in history had 111.9 million TV viewers. I wasn’t interested in
the match nor in the half-time concert. I know. Send me off to a Russian gulag
as I’m clearly an enemy of the state. Football never held much fascination for
me – not sure whether that’s because I’m just not much of a sports guy or a
tragic week in eighth grade that is better left to another blog at another time. While it’s not my thing – I don’t begrudge
others who enjoy it. I’ve always resisted the idea that taxpayers should
support such sporting franchises or facilities. Usually that manifests itself
in tax breaks, incentives, etc. for a team to build in a particular place over
another. Beyond these breaks we now learn that the Pentagon has paid the NFL
$5.4 million dollars to honor veterans.
The Business Insider reports that 14 teams “accepted millions of dollars from the defense department over
the course of three years in exchange for honoring troops and veterans before
games.”
Before a game begins the teams take to the field and bring
out veterans and service members to ‘honor’ them. It’s a powerful and symbolic
way to tie the inherent heroism and patriotism of the American military with
America’s sport. There is an implicit assumption that the ‘honoring’ is due to
respect, appreciation and affection. Nope. It’s due to cash. Who’s paid for
this propaganda? The taxpayer has funded this through the Pentagon.
Perspective is important. $5.4 million is a lot of money to
me personally, and to most people. It is for most organizations too. For the
Pentagon, however, whose 2017 fiscal year budget request is $582 billion – the
$5.4 million cost is 0.0010% of its expenditures. Tiny. One penny out of
$1,000. But that’s not the only financial support American give the league.
The taxpayer also underwrites the league in other ways. The
NFL has 32 teams – each has an average valuation of $2 billion per Forbes.
Not one penny of this $64 billion dollars is subject to taxes. USA Today reported that In 1966 “Congress amended the law to specifically list
professional football leagues as 501 (c) 6 organizations — along with chambers
of commerce and boards of trade. It happened as a result of horse trading with
Congress that included an antitrust exemption for the NFL that helped it merge
with the AFL, a rival league. In exchange, Congress received pledges from the
NFL, including a promise to add a franchise in New Orleans.” As the head of
this not-for-profit Commissioner Roger Goode earns upwards of $30 million per
year.
The recent movie “Concussion” detailed the corrupt nature of
the sport as it relates to the health and well-being of its players – all the
way down to the ‘Pop Warner’ leagues. It shouldn’t be surprising that at the
professional level there’s deception as well. This scheme reflects badly on the
game and the military. It’s a true fumble.
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