26S

their  domination  of  the  players  by  actively  attempting  to  organize  a  players'

''"poTentially  the  most  serious  area  of  abuse  through  use  of  the  blacklist  in-
vohes  a  plaver's  personal  freedoms. There  is  no  question  that  a  star  perform-
er's ablity  to  become  involved  in  controversial  issues  is  much  greater  than
?Lat  (^f  the  3-ournevman  player.^o  The  average  player  may  be  labelled  as  a
trSlblemaker  and  therefore  undesirable  whereas  the  star  performer  is  usually
consiSd  ''untouchable.''^^  One's  right  to  exercise  his  personal  civil  rights  off
the  field  may  in  some  cases  be  directly  related  to  his  ability  to  perform  on  it
The  potenSl  for  abuse  through  the  utilization  of  the  blacklist  is  enormous
ond  even  f  this  device  is  not  abused,  it  affords  the  owners  the  ability  to
Sengthen/throiigh  collective  action,  their  bargaining  position  over  the  play-

GTS

E. Common  Draft

In  three  of  the  four  sports  under  discussion,  the  player  most  probably  will
never  Sfve  Se  opportuni-ty  to  bargain  with  two  employers  for  his  services  at
anv  time  in  his  entire  career. All  four  sports  use  systems  whereby  each  team
owns  tTe  li'-hfs  to  negotiate  with  a  certain  player  and  these  rights  are  re-
spec  el  by  Si  other  telims. in  all  four  sports  the  common  dnift  ;^  ^mp  «^.^^f^
Each  team  is  allotted  a  number  of  draft  choices  and  controls  thev^^Ms  to  the
Dlaver  whom  they  have  decided  to  draft.^^  in  hockey,  each  team  had  terri-
torial rSMswS  afforded  it  the  sole  right  to  negotiate  w-ith  a  Player  wbo
iTvS  w  mn  the  team's  assigned  territory,  but  the  common  draft  removed  the
territorial  rights."  Only  in  basketball,  where  two  leagues  are  current  y  opeiat-
ingwm  a  player  be  able  to  bargain  with  two  employers. The  result  of  this
competition  has  made  basketball  the  highest  paying  of  all  four  sports."

F. Assignment  of  Contracts

The  assignabilitv  of  a  player's  contract  is  very  basic  to  professional
teJr^pSs^s  The  blacklist,  reserve  clause,  and  common  draft  a  contribute  lo
the  superior  bargaining  position  of  the  owners  but  the  prerogative  to  trade  a
man  on  a  Somenli^s  notice,  as  though  he  were  a  chattel,  demonstrates  the  man-
ner inVhi^h^Ms  power  has  been  used. Only  a  few  superstars  have  been  able

'"^pSS  fheSbiS;^?rS?^l"nLssary  for  the  successful  operation  of  pro-
fessLnaFteam  spor  s,  but  the  impersonal  cruelty  with  which  trading  is  carried
out  i  inelcusabie. 