Hail Labor

The first few weeks of NFL games have been officiated by replacements, as the Referees Union is taking part in a labor hold out over a $16 million pay increase.  League officials' decision to not agree to the increase is, for all intents and purposes, a matter of principle.  In the grand scheme of the NFL, $16 million, covered by 32 teams over the span of 5 years is...not that much money.

The Players Union has issued a letter of support of the strike, and there exists the tip of a legal hook of the league's responsibility to maintain safe working conditions for players.  Still, talk of players holding out their labor in solidarity has been that, just talk.   As well, the players are in an interesting bind, such that the more they complain about the officiating, the more leverage the league has against the ref's union.  The real issue is not the officiating (as...erratic as it's been), it's the league's handling of the labor strike that is the issue.  Players know this, so for the most part their rhetoric of solidarity has less focused on complaining about the replacements, and more focused on getting the league to agree to the Referees Union's demands.

From what I've seen, fans are mostly focused on the quality of calls.  For sure, players are still playing, but there has been no shortage of controversial calls that might try the patience of more dedicated fans.  Still, lest we loose site of the bigger picture, only one team can win the game.  As a fan of the game (my last team loyalty left Philly with Randall Cunningham), what I most want is for everybody to do their best and for nobody to get hurt.

Ironically, I think this is the same thing the owners and league officials want.  So long as their so-called "product" (arghh!) still sells–to the public and advertisers–they will be fine with locking out the Refs Union.  Their thinking is, so what if there's a missed call or two?  Are people watching?  Are we selling advertisements?  Then line 'em up!

At this point, the technology exists to all but do away with the human error of officiating (I can't be the first one to have thought of this, right?  I mean, we already have a Megatron in the league).   Put that in your Hegel machine and press play.  Where is the real dichotomy? team vs. team?  players vs. refs? fans vs. the game?  or labor vs. capital?

"Team USA versus The Machine"

Danielle Belton nails it in this article.  Yet another example of racism and sexism as both pervading and pervasive.

Linsanity

I've basically been holding my thoughts on Jeremy Lin. No doubt, he's a very good player. As well, he is a dynamic figure residing at the intersections of race and sports. For now, I'll say that one of the most interesting aspects of Lin's emergence is the ways in which racism (as a systemic ideology) and prejudice (as an articulation of personal preference) get convoluted when they are applied to a "model minority" excelling in what is the blackest of professional sports. Seems to me that this is the perfect occasion to clarify the distinctions, or in the least be clear that the terms are not interchangeable. For now, it's enough that the Knicks are winning.

Happy New Year!

Here's to keeping with the process, taking advantage of each day and the moments therein, and being better than I was yesterday.