Great points, Alan. I did get a chuckle with the plug for DLA Piper in his opening remarks. Do we see any possible defamation or false light claims here?

 Tim Epstein -- 12/13/2007 7:14 PM  

I also laughed when Senator Mitchell's plugged his white-shoe law firm. I laughed harder at Alan's lines about DLA Piper associates. Here in Pittsburgh, our newspaper is prominently listing the seven current or former Pirates named in the report on the Post-Gazette home page (http://www.post-gazette.com/). Is there _any_ story that could justify seven Pirates leading off the Pittsburgh news tonight?

Great blog entry -- keep up the good work!

 RepeatandFade -- 12/13/2007 7:15 PM  

I don't see what's wrong with finding an individual guilty based solely on anonymous, biased testimony without offering the accused the chance to face (and cross examine)his accuser - It happens all time these days...in military tribunals.

 George W. Bush -- 12/13/2007 7:15 PM  

MLB.com, the official mouthpiece of major league baseball, has extracted the player names from the 400 page document and included them in a list at a separate link.

This way the media doesn't have to actually read the report or recommendations. They get what they really want for a sexy story

 ChapelHeel -- 12/13/2007 7:46 PM  

This whole report is part of a right-wing-conspiracy. Bill is right, it depends on what is is.

 Hillary Clinton -- 12/13/2007 9:22 PM  

Time Magazine's Sean Gregory raises some great questions regarding Mitchell's report: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1694552,00.html. He also probes what I think is the most important question of all (and I have previously posted on it) -- whether Selig can legally suspend anybody on the basis of non-positive test evidence contained in Mitchell's report.

Also, it has been reported that Congress has asked Mitchell, Fehr and Selig to testify at a hearing next Tuesday.

 Rick Karcher -- 12/13/2007 11:15 PM  

I am likewise underwhelmed.

You're the Sports Law Blogger. I wish you would post on the legality of some of these PEDs.

As you allude to, androstenedione was sold as a food supplement in health stores. It was made illegal in the Anabolic Steroid Act of 2004.The designer steroid at the center of the BALCO scandal, THG, was only banned in the same Act. Anabolic steriods in general were legal until 1990. It was the Anabolic Steroid Act of 1990 which prompted Fay Vincent's infamous memo. (Yep, the original steroid beneficiaries, the Bash Brothers in Oakland, were perfectly legal and not in violation of MLB rules.)

 Anonymous -- 12/14/2007 3:40 AM  

i totally agree that this report was much ado about nothing. i could have prepared the same report reading old newspaper articles in less time and for less money than mitchell's law firm received. it's funny how mitchell, connected to the red sox, spends a lot of time trying to embarras the biggest enemy of red sox nation- roger clemens. it was also wrong to out marginal players who retired years ago. for what purpose? baseball should be ashamed of itself, not for the steroids issue but for how much time and money was spent on a report that said nothing.

 john jones -- 12/14/2007 9:12 AM  

Good points Alan, I agree with most of you said in this post.

I've been hearing alot about the "leaked" report that was reported on Ch 4 (NBC new york I believe). They were talking about it on the radio stations in tampa this morning and I've seen alot of blogging activity on it. Has anyone seen a credible source as to what happened here? Apparently their "leaked" report which they disclosed well before the actual report was presented included the names of some big time players that were not mentioned in the actual report, including Albert Pujols.

Any thoughts on liability here? It seems to me they should be held accountable for "outing" players as steroid users when they in fact were not even part of the mitchel report (which is based on little evidence on ots own).

 Jimmy H -- 12/14/2007 9:38 AM  

Liability is tough when public figures are involved. It is amazing to look at the media reports the day after, most continuing the hype that Mitchell and DLA Piper have unearthed startling revelations. All of three players tested positive last year, none of them stars. To hold more hearings on this issue is absurd, particularly when Congress continues to ignore issues such as the NCAA's exploitation of amateur athletes.
Alan Milstein

 Alan Milstein -- 12/14/2007 10:20 AM  

thanks

 Çeçenistan -- 2/22/2009 8:54 AM  

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