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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

255

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In this paper, I will argue that MLB's antitrust exemption has been widely misinterpreted as being much more broadly applicable than the Supreme Court's decision in Flood v. Kuhn actually mandates. Based on the language and the underlying reasoning in the case, Flood should in fact be narrowly interpreted as only exempting MLB's reserve system, not any and all actions undertaken by MLB pertaining to the business of baseball. As mentioned before, the reserve system is no longer in effect due to the collective action taken by players over the years, which has brought about its dismantling. However, even if the most important components of the reserve system had not been lost, the owners would no longer be immune from antitrust lawsuits from players on these grounds. In 1998, Congress passed The Curt Flood Act, which explicitly applied federal antitrust law to the baseball reserve system, but was intentionally ambiguous regarding the application of antitrust law to any other aspects of MLB. If coupled with a narrow interpretation of Flood, the Curt Flood Act entirely takes away MLB's antitrust exemption. I will also discuss several legal doctrines that have evolved significantly since the Flood decision was issued and that should be taken into account when evaluating the current status of MLB's antitrust exemption. There is no evidence that MLB actually needs an exemption from federal antitrust law, or that such an exemption would actually benefit the game. This can be seen most clearly by viewing other similarly situated sports like basketball and football, which have grown enormously in recent decades, while baseball no longer enjoys the place in the national spotlight that it once did. These sports have thrived despite never having been exempt from federal antitrust law. Finally, I will conclude by examining how realistic it is that a general antitrust exemption will ever be absolutely removed by the Supreme Court or Congress. There are several legal doctrines and rationales that would support such an action. There are also several situations in which antitrust litigation could arise, and I will detail what these situations are and how they may force a court or Congress to make a final decision on MLB's antitrust exemption.

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