Tuesday 28 June 2022 06:51 PM MLB's century-old antitrust exemption is called into question by a bipartisan ... trends now MLB's century-old antitrust exemption is called into question by a bipartisan group of US Senators over concerns about the policy's impact on the working conditions for minor leaguers By Alex Raskin Sports News Editor For Dailymail.com Published: 18:48 BST, 28 June 2022 | Updated: 18:48 BST, 28 June 2022 Viewcomments The century-old antitrust exemption that allows Major League Baseball to operate a legal monopoly in the United States is being questioned by a bipartisan group of senators, who are seeking to address concerns about the policy's impact on the game and working conditions for minor league players. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee addressed a letter detailing its concerns to Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a group dedicated to improving living and working conditions for minor league players, who are at the mercy of MLB. The letter was signed by a bipartisan group of senators, including Dick Durbin (Democrat-Illinois), Chuck Grassley (Republican-Iowa), Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) and Mike Lee (Republican-Utah). It marks the federal government's first major move to question the legality of the antitrust exemption, which has been in effect since a 1922 Supreme Court decision. The exemption has since withstood two challenges in the Supreme Court (1953 and 1972) and a separate challenge in 2017 was stopped in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. 'We write to seek information about how baseball's antitrust exemption is impacting competition in the labor market for minor league ballplayers as well as the operations of minor league teams,' read the letter. Durbin, Grassley, Blumenthal and Lee specifically seek to learn how removing the exemption could help minor leaguers, many of whom have lived in cramped conditions on meagre pay while they chase their dreams of playing in the Majors. (MLB did pledge to improve living conditions in 2022 by enacting a housing policy that requires teams to provide furnished accommodations with a single bed per player and no more than two players per bedroom). The Committee's letter also questions the impact the exemption has on work stoppages, like the owner-enacted lockout that delayed the ongoing 2022 season, and its role in requiring minor leaguers to sign a uniform player contract, which grants teams extensive control of players' contractual rights. Furthermore, the Committee is also concerned about corruption within the market for international prospects and what, if any, role the exemption has in perpetuating the issues. 'We need to examine how Major League Baseball's 100-year-old antitrust exemption is affecting the operation of minor league baseball teams and the ability of minor league ballplayers to make a decent living,' wrote Durbin. 'This bipartisan request for information will help inform the Committee about the impact of this exemption, especially when it comes to minor league and international prospects. We need to make sure that all professional ballplayers get to play on a fair and level field.' Grassley expressed his concern for minor leaguers in his contribution to the letter. 'This is about ensuring a level playing for the minor leagues and its players,' he wrote. 'MLB's special antitrust exemption shouldn't be imposing labor or contraction problems for minor league teams and players. Baseball is America's pastime and that means more than just the major leagues.' MLB is the only of America's four major professional team sports leagues that has an antitrust exemption, which allows the league to suppress wages and otherwise avoid federal anti-monopoly laws. By allowing for the uniform player contract, MLB's antitrust exemption prevents minor leaguers from seeking better pay with another franchise. As a result, minor leaguers are making between $4,800 and $15,400 in 2022. (The federal poverty threshold in most states is $13,590 in salary) 'Minor league players are far and away the group most negatively impacted by baseball's antitrust exemption,' Advocates for Minor Leaguers director Harry Marino said in a statement on Tuesday. 'MLB owners should not have a special license to underpay their workers. We are confident that Congress will recognize as much through this process and, ultimately, repeal baseball's antitrust exemption as it relates to issues concerning minor league players.' Lee has previously introduced legislation called the Competition in Professional Baseball Act aimed at removing the exemption, and received support from several Republicans, including Ted Cruz (Texas) and Josh Hawley (Missouri). 'There's no reason that Major League Baseball should be treated any differently than any other professional sports leagues in America,' Lee said last year. 'No reason why they ought to have preferential treatment relative to the NFL, or the NBA, or any other professional athletic organization.' In a federal lawsuit filed in December, four minor league teams accused MLB of anticompetitive behavior by contracting a number of affiliate clubs in recent years. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility