Home > 105th Congressional Bills > S. 53 (rs) To require the general application of the antitrust laws to major league baseball, and for other purposes. ...S. 53 (rs) To require the general application of the antitrust laws to major league baseball, and for other purposes. ...
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 53
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 1998
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the general application of the antitrust laws to major
league baseball, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Curt Flood Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this legislation to state that major league
baseball players are covered under the antitrust laws (i.e., that major
league baseball players will have the same rights under the antitrust
laws as do other professional athletes, e.g., football and basketball
players), along with a provision that makes it clear that the passage
of this Act does not change the application of the antitrust laws in
any other context or with respect to any other person or entity.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO PROFESSIONAL MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL.
The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 12 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
``Sec. 27. (a) Subject to subsections (b) through (d), the conduct,
acts, practices, or agreements of persons in the business of organized
professional major league baseball directly relating to or affecting
employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the
major league level are subject to the antitrust laws to the same extent
such conduct, acts, practices, or agreements would be subject to the
antitrust laws if engaged in by persons in any other professional
sports business affecting interstate commerce.
``(b) No court shall rely on the enactment of this section as a
basis for changing the application of the antitrust laws to any
conduct, acts, practices, or agreements other than those set forth in
subsection (a). This section does not create, permit or imply a cause
of action by which to challenge under the antitrust laws, or otherwise
apply the antitrust laws to, any conduct, acts, practices, or
agreements that do not directly relate to or affect employment of major
league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level,
including but not limited to--
``(1) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of
persons engaging in, conducting or participating in the
business of organized professional baseball relating to or
affecting employment to play baseball at the minor league
level, any organized professional baseball amateur or first-
year player draft, or any reserve clause as applied to minor
league players;
``(2) the agreement between organized professional major
league baseball teams and the teams of the National Association
of Professional Baseball Leagues, commonly known as the
`Professional Baseball Agreement', the relationship between
organized professional major league baseball and organized
professional minor league baseball, or any other matter
relating to organized professional baseball's minor leagues;
``(3) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of
persons engaging in, conducting or participating in the
business of organized professional baseball relating to or
affecting franchise expansion, location or relocation,
franchise ownership issues, including ownership transfers, the
relationship between the Office of the Commissioner and
franchise owners, the marketing or sales of the entertainment
product of organized professional baseball and the licensing of
intellectual property rights owned or held by organized
professional baseball teams individually or collectively;
``(4) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements protected
by Public Law 87-331 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 et seq.) (commonly
known as the `Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961');
``(5) the relationship between persons in the business of
organized professional baseball and umpires or other
individuals who are employed in the business of organized
professional baseball by such persons; or
``(6) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of
persons not in the business of organized professional major
league baseball.
``(c) Only a major league baseball player has standing to sue under
this section. For the purposes of this section, a major league baseball
player is--
``(1) a person who is a party to a major league player's
contract, or is playing baseball at the major league level; or
``(2) a person who was a party to a major league player's
contract or playing baseball at the major league level at the
time of the injury that is the subject of the complaint; or
``(3) a person who has been a party to a major league
player's contract or who has played baseball at the major
league level, and who claims he has been injured in his efforts
to secure a subsequent major league player's contract by an
alleged violation of the antitrust laws: Provided however, That
for the purposes of this paragraph, the alleged antitrust
violation shall not include any conduct, acts, practices, or
agreements of persons in the business of organized professional
baseball relating to or affecting employment to play baseball
at the minor league level, including any organized professional
baseball amateur or first-year player draft, or any reserve
clause as applied to minor league players; or
``(4) a person who was a party to a major league player's
contract or who was playing baseball at the major league level
at the conclusion of the last full championship season
immediately preceding the expiration of the last collective
bargaining agreement between persons in the business of
organized professional major league baseball and the exclusive
collective bargaining representative of major league baseball
players.
``(d)(1) As used in this section, `person' means any entity,
including an individual, partnership, corporation, trust or
unincorporated association or any combination or association thereof.
As used in this section, the National Association of Professional
Baseball Leagues, its member leagues and the clubs of those leagues,
are not `in the business of organized professional major league
baseball'.
``(2) In cases involving conduct, acts, practices, or agreements
that directly relate to or affect both employment of major league
baseball players to play baseball at the major league level and also
relate to or affect any other aspect of organized professional
baseball, including but not limited to employment to play baseball at
the minor league level and the other areas set forth in subsection (b)
above, only those components, portions or aspects of such conduct,
acts, practices, or agreements that directly relate to or affect
employment of major league players to play baseball at the major league
level may be challenged under subsection (a) and then only to the
extent that they directly relate to or affect employment of major
league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level.
``(3) As used in subsection (a), interpretation of the term
`directly' shall not be governed by any interpretation of section 151
et seq. of title 29, United States Code (as amended).
``(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
application to organized professional baseball of the nonstatutory
labor exemption from the antitrust laws.
``(5) The scope of the conduct, acts, practices, or agreements
covered by subsection (b) shall not be strictly or narrowly
construed.''.
Passed the Senate July 30, 1998.
Attest:
GARY SISCO,
Secretary.
Pages: 1 Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
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