What's happening in St. Louis and before that in Charlotte, N.C., is an absolute disgrace to all that's supposed to be fair and decent. It's a contaminated situation that smells worse than raw sewage.
The thieves operating under the guise of professional sports are devoid of honor. Of course, this is no surprise. But they should be told to cease and desist, to either clean up their act or, if found guilty of breaking the fair trade laws of business, sent to jail.
They are getting away with what amounts to a legal holdup. It's wrong. But does anyone care or has America become so used to being violated that it'll accept any kind of a mugging?
How much more are you, the public, willing to take before taking a stand against such a despicable practice?
Isn't this the last financial straw, the one that finally broke the camel's back and also the bank? Elected officials in such places as Charlotte and St. Louis have betrayed their own fans. They should feel some sense of shame, and so, too, the mayors and governors in those jurisdictions -- plus the National Football League.
Charges should be brought against them for failing to adequately fulfill their duties as guardians and protectors of the public. If necessary, they need to be brought to trial, censored and even possibly impeached for negligence or malfeasance.
What's being allowed to happen in St. Louis and Charlotte is at least unethical, if not illegal. Political scum have betrayed the trust invested in them when elected to office. Their integrity is nonexistent. It's worthless and so are they.
The sordid action of charging people extra money -- they call it a Personal Seat License -- before they gain the right to buy a ticket to a game is a disgrace. Either the owner puts up the costs to build a stadium or the team finds somewhere else to play. If the cities and states want to do right by the citizens, they should absorb the cost -- but not the individual.
It's the same as a city or a state building marinas, parks, zoos, golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, bike and jogging trails. A stadium should fit into the same recreational category. The public deserves this much for its taxes.
Why should team owners in St. Louis and Charlotte, in cooperation and approval of the municipal jurisdictions, be able to get away with a form of larceny that isn't so grand? The idea started in 1971 when the Dallas Cowboys built their present stadium by insisting that would-be ticket holders put up their own money to finance building the facility.
The major difference in what Dallas pulled off and what's going on in Charlotte and St. Louis is that Dallas sold bonds in connection with buying tickets. Purchase a bond and you got the right to order a ticket or tickets.
You could later redeem the bond and get the full return of your investment, plus a minimal amount of interest. This was kind of like regaining your initiation fees after joining a country club and then having to resign for reasons of being transferred out of town.
The NFL permitted the Dallas caper. And the fools in Dallas contributed, even though the billionaire building the stadium was a wealthy Texan, team owner Clint Murchison. Now, in Charlotte and St. Louis, they are taking the same subterfuge to a more despicable degree.
The charges are more outlandish, costing as much as $4,500 -- but this doesn't get you admitted to the stadium. You need to put up more money for the price of the tickets, maybe $360 for one seat. The license dollars are non-refundable. Yes, the rich get richer and they care not for the sacrifices of the working man and woman, only to plunder them.
The Wall Street Journal said the St. Louis effort will raise $60 million and designated that $27 million from the seat licenses will go toward paying off Anaheim Stadium, which the Rams are leaving; $15 million to pay for a practice facility and $13 million for relocation costs.
Two years ago, at the commissioner's annual news conference before the Super Bowl, a reporter asked a question of Paul Tagliabue. We wanted to know what he thought of the Charlotte idea that was in the works to arrange so-called license fees. He said he hadn't heard about it and didn't know enough about the details to offer comment.
Then, after a long question-and-answer session with the press, he said this was a good place to end the meeting, so the commissioner adjourned the session. In the back of the room, friends from Charlotte, namely Mike McCormack, president of the team, and Mark Richardson, son of the founder of the franchise, were plainly upset with the sportswriter who had introduced the subject.
Ultimately, this questionable way to finance the Charlotte stadium came to reality. No wonder McCormack and Richardson were more than slightly irritated. They didn't want to see the plan scuttled by exposure, plus pressure, in the press that might spill over to the public and jeopardize the entire scam.
When St. Louis was in pursuit of the Los Angeles Rams, the group there brought in Max Muhleman, a sports marketing specialist, and got him to teach them the way Charlotte went about it. Muhleman performed so efficiently the Rams have announced they're going to be playing in St. Louis.
Too bad that professional sports has come to this. Doesn't anyone in an official capacity, be it in the federal, state or city governments, have enough integrity to stand up and scream this is wrong, wrong, wrong? But, no, they turn their backs on the fans and look for new ways to do them in with unethical practices that deserve to be rejected rather than rewarded.
Professional sports and the National Football League have never stooped so low as to abuse a public that needs to be protected -- not violated.