The Chicago Cubs fan who runs the Senate Judiciary Committee, irked by an ongoing lockout that has canceled games at the beginning of the upcoming season, suggested Thursday that the panel will examine Major League Baseball’s long-standing exemption to the nation’s antitrust laws.
Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin pointed out that it’s been 100 years since a Supreme Court ruling that first exempted professional baseball from the nation’s laws to prevent businesses from getting together to reduce economic competition.
“Over and over again, the Supreme Court has said it is up to the Congress to decide the role of Major League Baseball when it comes to antitrust exemptions,” Durbin said at a panel business meeting. “I happen to think at this moment in time we should be revisiting this issue.”
