The Miami Dolphins watched Hurricane Frances edge toward their Florida homes, recalled the devastation of Charley in the state three weeks earlier, and concluded they would rather remain with their families than go to New Orleans for a preseason game. The NFL refused to cancel the exhibition game, so the Dolphins were forced to go — all except nine players who stayed in South Florida.
Days later, the storm stalled the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ departure to New York for a Labor Day doubleheader with the Yankees, and by the time the team arrived, one of the games had to be postponed. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner asked that it be ruled a forfeit, though MLB executive offices quickly announced it would be rescheduled later and the Yanks withdrew their request.
Taking a charitable view of the Yankees’ request, the team apparently reasoned that the Devil Rays could have left home a day or two earlier, leaving their families to deal with whatever the hurricane delivered. Another view is that the Yankees were trying to pluck an easy victory at this stage of a suddenly tight pennant race.
The NFL’s insistence on keeping to the schedule is more understandable, given the lack of opportunity for rescheduling and the dollars at stake. Even so, we wish the league would have been a little more sensitive, that it had given a little more consideration to the human pull of home and family. We know the capacity is there: The NFL led the way among properties in showing compassion and perspective in September 2001.
Smart businesses don’t often ask the hired help to choose between doing their jobs and tending to the safety of their families, and with good reason. That’s a sure way to make yourself the second choice.
