MLB antitrust overview:
- Who: Attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption from state laws.
- Why: Major League Baseball contracted its affiliate minor league teams from 160 to 120 in 2020 without regard to the well-being of fans and communities, the brief argues.
- Where: The U.S. Supreme Court is in Washington, D.C.
Attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia want the U.S. Supreme Court to get rid of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) antitrust exemption after baseball decided to lower its total number of Minor League Affiliate teams from 160 to 120 in 2020.
The move to eliminate teams was bad for open competition in the market and bad for the communities where they are located, the Connecticut-led brief says.
The attorneys general who signed on with Connecticut are those from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The attorneys general argue that the Supreme Court erred in its 1922 opinion on giving baseball an exemption from state antitrust laws and that Congress never intended to usurp the power of the states to ensure a free market.
“It’s time to revisit this exemption; it’s anticompetitive and does nothing but hurt communities who want nothing but to enjoy America’s pastime in their own communities,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said. “In this case, Congress never made any directive for the preemption of state law; it’s time this ‘gift’ allotted to MLB is reconsidered.”
Request comes after Republican senators requested the MLB antitrust exemption end in 2021
The original 1922 Supreme Court ruling said that baseball games are not subject to federal antitrust laws and are solely a matter for the state where they are played instead of being the required interstate activity to run afoul of federal antitrust law.
The court has since acknowledged that MLB games are interstate activity but have kept the MLB antitrust exemption.
The antitrust request comes after a group of Republican Senators in 2021 pushed for an end to the MLB antitrust exemption, Reuters reported.
Major League Baseball agreed to a $185 million settlement last year to resolve claims it failed to pay minor league players minimum wages.
Have you attended a Minor League Baseball game in the past five years? Let us know in the comments.
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