If this has been discussed, I apologize. I've seen boycotts mentioned regarding foods and products. This thread speaks of the media.
Has anyone posted the amount of money fed into the Republican Party by the Sports Team owners? Just a thought.......
Pro team owners play political game
By Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY
10/27/04
Pro sports team owners can also be big-time players — in politics.
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has contributed to candidates of both parties.
AP file
NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and NASCAR Nextel Cup team owners, commissioners and spouses contributed at least $14.6 million to national political candidates, parties and other political advocacy groups in the two years leading into Tuesday's election.
That might not seem like much, given total spending is expected to reach about $4 billion.
But less than 1% of Americans make political donations of more than $200, says Larry Noble, executive director of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics research group.
The sports world, he says, has some "heavy hitters." They're topped by Alex Spanos, owner of the NFL's San Diego Chargers. Spanos, with just three other owners — the NBA Orlando Magic's Rich DeVos, the NFL Houston Texans' Robert McNair and MLB Cincinnati Reds' Carl Lindner — produced about 71% of all money from owners and commissioners.
Who was included: 153 individuals who are the majority owner or presiding officer (in the case of corporate-owned teams) of teams in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.
Commissioners from the four leagues and NASCAR owners also were included. Seven owners of Canadian teams are not eligible to make donations because they are not U.S. citizens.
Contributions by spouses were included in the totals attributed to the owners or commissioners.
Types of donations: Those made to presidential, House or Senate candidates, state or national political parties, national political action committees (PAC) or so-called 527 organizations (non-profit groups not affiliated with political parties, named for the portion of the IRS tax code regulating them).
Donations to local or state candidates or organizations (other than state parties) were not included.
Donations of less than $200 are not required to be reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and might not be reflected in this analysis.
Federal laws limit how much an individual can give during an election cycle to any candidate, party or PAC. The limits:
$2,000 per election (primary and general are separate) to a candidate;
$25,000 per year to a national party;
$10,000 per year to a state or local party;
$5,000 to a PAC.
All are also subject to aggregate maximums. There is no limit on giving to 527 organizations.
Time frame: Donations included were made in the current election cycle, from January 2003 through the most recent reports to the FEC or IRS.
Because of varying deadlines, the most recent reports could have been filed between the end of June and mid- October. Again, some donations made in recent months might not be reflected in this analysis.
Sources: FEC and IRS filings that were made available via searchable databases by the following non-profit, non-partisan organizations: PoliticalMoneyLine, the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics.
Contributing: MaryJo Sylwester, Rachel Shuster, Scott Boeck, Mike Brehm, Erik Brady, Jim Drinkard and Barbara Hansen
Each is on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans and made virtually all their donations to Republican causes or candidates. They might not be motivated by anything related to sports, suggests the CRP's Noble: "These four are longtime donors. And most sports donors have lots more interests than their sports teams. That usually motivates their giving."
Con't...
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-10-26-campaign-contributions_x.htmNATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-campaign-nfl.htmMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-campaign-mlb.htmNATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOC.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-campaign-nba.htmNATINAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-campaign-nhl.htmNASCAR
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-campaign-nascar.htmNov. 1, 2004, 1:09AM
Sports figures mum as election looms
Many social scientists suggest it's because players are by and large too young, too insulated from real-world worries by unreal salaries and too self-absorbed to care about the consequences of American civics. In their defense, though, athletes are taught from an early age that team sports require a strong unity of purpose, with less internal dissonance the better.
Athletes - Entertainers
But the two high-profile, flushed-with-income groups who dominate contemporary culture in the United States veer in sharply opposite directions when it comes to how they involve themselves in politics and the political process. If entertainers by and large lean toward overtly liberal activism, athletes tend to be quietly, if passionately, conservative.
Still, other than noted Bush-basher Martina Navratilova, how many have stridently expressed their opinions? To be sure, there are few Bruce Springsteens in the mix, crisscrossing the country and giving free concerts for Kerry.
Remember Charles Barkley explaining to his mother how a black kid from the hardscrabble rural South could grow up and become a Republican? "Momma," he said, "I have to be a Republican. I'm rich now."
The San Diego Chargers' Alex Spanos ($5.2 million), the Orlando Magic's Rick DeVos ($2.2 million), McNair and the Cincinnati Reds' Carl Lindner ($1.3 million) accounted for 71 percent of the total $14.6 million in political contributions from owners. Most, if not all of it, benefited Republicans.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2877437BB