MLB's Dir of Government Relations Alan Sobba and his
legislative counterparts who represent the NFL, NBA and NHL,
are profiled by John Solomon in GEORGE. Sobba and the
others "have a simple game plan: choice seats for
legislators to the best athletic events, the promise of new
franchises for sports-starved cities, and hefty campaign
contributions." The result is that the sports business "has
managed to maintain a most-favored-industry status in the
capital ... despite a litany of complaints from the fans."
League lobbyists are "backed by individual contributions
from the owners and their family members, including
donations during the last election cycle" from White
Sox/Bulls Chair Jerry Reinsdorf ($67,000), Heat Owner Micky
Arison ($40,000) and Jets Owner Leon Hess ($32,000). Sobba
formerly worked for the meat industry and sees similarities
with MLB: "Both (meat and baseball) are all-American. When
you walk into a congressional office, you have credibility
since most people grew up with your product." One Senate
staffer, on the affinity legislators have with sports stars:
"I know it sounds crazy. But an autograph from (Yankee P)
David Cone can have a lot of impact" (GEORGE, 1/98 issue).
