We Got Game!
Well, fantasy fans and addicts throughtout the land, it’s time to kick back and rejoice! The verdict is in, and with the decision Monday afternoon that the Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal brought forward by MLB and the Players Union, we can officially put this sad chapter in the history of fantasy sports to rest. Thankfully, we won’t have to be using alpha-numberic codes to identify our fantasy teams and players heading into the future.
A spokesperson for the players union responded with the old tried and true, “We’re looking at our options at this time,” and MLB had “no comment.” Someone enlighten me here, because I just can’t see a whole lot of options. Give it up guys, it’s over and done and leave us fantasy fans to the game we love. C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing Inc., which originally launched this suit, has a free-speech right to use the names and performance statistics of professional athletes, as both a federal judge and then a U.S. appeals court in St. Louis had determined in earlier judgments.
Maybe it’s just about time that the game recognized the value of the fantasy player in the grand scheme of things. An article by RotoRob back in August 2006 more than summarizes my feelings on this topic. Have we not gone to games, bought the apparel, and stuck by a sport/industry that has endured more than its fair share of recent problems?
We talk the talk and walk the walk, and maybe, just maybe, the “Business of Baseball” can now without recourse allow the “Fantasy Fans” of baseball to enjoy the game that we hold so near and dear.
