Use this link for the Flood v. Kuhn case: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/feder

Question

Use this link for the Flood v. Kuhn case: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/407/258/case.html

Read the Flood v. Kuhn decision [407 U.S. 258 (1972)1], wherein St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood challenged Major League Baseball’s “reserve clause,” and answer the following questions:

1.How and when did Major League Baseball receive an antitrust exemption? On what grounds have the courts determined that baseball is “not within the scope of the federal antitrust laws”?

2. Explain how the advent of radio and television called into question the continued legitimacy of baseball’s antitrust exemption.

Explanation / Answer

Ans 1 – Antitrust laws are basically drawn to protect the fair competition in an open market in the USA statutes. The Major League included a “reserve clause” in their players’ contracts that bounded them to the teams that initially signed them. The buying, selling and trading of players was possible but the players just couldn’t sign with other teams on contract expiration. The antitrust statutes in writing do not distinguish between baseball and other forms of sports enterprises however in 1922 the Supreme Court held that because the antitrust laws only governed the interstate commerce and baseball is not a form of the same, hence the laws are not applicable to baseball.

Ans 2 – The development of radio and television widened the scope of baseball game viewers. More and more the game of baseball got dependent on these mediums for additional revenues over the years. Many cases after the Supreme Court case ruling in 1922 unsuccessfully challenged the baseball exemption from the antitrust laws stressing on the advent of radio and television as an additional platform of fans. The new factors of radio and television brought the broadcasting rights question into light. As radio and television resulted in more viewers and coverage it would result in higher revenues and profits for the owners as well as for the players, it brought the reserve clause and the exemption of baseball from the antitrust law into question.

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