Legal Commentary

Over at my non-domicile home at Sports Law Blog, I have a post seeking a metric for when Congress or individual members ought to get involved in matters relating to sports.

The trigger for my question is recent efforts by Rep. Steve Cohen to push the NBA to undo its 19-year age limit for entry into the league, which Cohen describes as "discriminatory." Perhaps because this has flown under the radar (Cohen is a second-term Democrat from Memphis, most known for surviving a nasty, racially charged primary and religiously charged general election challenge in 2008), Cohen has not been criticized on the "don't you have more important things to worry about than games" front, the way House members were after the various steroids hearings or that Orrin Hatch has been for his threats against the BCS.

So my question is where is the line between Congress stepping into a matter of legitimate federal concern and "worry about more important things"? Is it when members of the public are genuinely being injured, as by the age limit (although the number is incredibly small), while such harm (beyond psychic disappointment) is missing as to the BCS? Is it a difference between internal league matters and those touching on people outside the league? Is it the difference between acting towards the undefined "integrity of the game" (e.g., steroids) as opposed to dealing with the broader business of sports (where sports are not much different than other entities regulated by federal law)? Of course, federal law does speak to things such as gambling in sports, which is all about the integrity of the game.

So is there anything to guide legislators on when sports is a proper subject for involvement?