Unconstitutional power grab

Yesterday, I came across an article in the Las Vegas Review Journal that really made me shake my head. Two former boxers and current Senators, one from each party, have teamed up to grasp even more power for the federal government and establish a United States Boxing Commission. As if anything can restrain the federal government. The main problem with a national boxing commission or the investigations into steroid use or concussions by the federal government is the same problem with more than half of the things Congress does; it does not have the power to involve itself in professional sports. In the wake of Roger Clemens being acquitted of perjury to Congress, stemming from the Congressional investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball; we have Senators Reid and McCain pushing for government regulation of boxing. This isn’t the first attempt of the government to elbow its way into the boxing ring or the sports realm. Congress investigated the use of steroids in baseball in 2005 and had the National Football League in front of a Congressional committee in 2009 and has been involved with boxing after the tragic fight between Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim in 1982. This latest call for government intervention into the realm of professional sports comes after the controversial decision in the Pacquiao/Bradley fight that was held in Las Vegas on June 9. Bradley won a split decision, but most boxing analysts felt that Pacquiao won the fight. What would this bill mean to boxing? According to the bill’s sponsors, it would license judges, referees, promoters and oversee all professional matches. All of this regulation and oversight is to reduce corruption and fraud that has plagued boxing for quite some time. The boxing industry has a different take on the bill. They see it as over-regulation to have government regulators go through every aspect of the sport. With the government’s track record, will they help or hurt the struggling sport? Las Vegas has become the boxing capital of the world, most of the biggest fights in the world are hosted by Las Vegas and how would this bill impact Nevada? The state of Nevada has arguably the best Athletic Commission in the country, and any federal agency would be very wise to use Nevada’s Athletic Commission as the model. That being the case, very little would change, except the corruption would be on a national scale. For links, please check my examiner article here.