Reporting tobacco use by ballplayers is now just an easy online form away

Yahoo! Sports ^ | Apr 3, 2012 | Kevin Kaduk and Grant Junkie

[Eric Blair 2084]

Under the terms of baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, big league ballplayers, managers and coaches will no longer allowed to use chewing tobacco during televised interviews, autograph signings and team-sponsored events.

They are also not allowed to carry any tobacco packaging in their uniforms on the field — which eliminates any need to explain to your inquisitive eight-year-old that his favorite pitcher is carrying a tin and not a hockey puck in his back pocket.

And lest you think that policing over 700 ballplayers a day in 15 different cities is an impossible challenge, Hardball Talk writes about a group that's planning to remain vigilant in pressuring Major League Baseball to enforce its own rules.

Yup, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids hopes that fans clicking turnstiles and watching from home will report any violations they see during the season. They've even created a handy-dandy online form that includes fields for the player's name, the game they attended or watch and even a place to submit pictures or screenshots of the tobacco use. (It unfortunately does not include any place to report sightings of your favorite ballplayer stumbling out of his local watering hole and toward his vehicle.)

[Eric Blair 2084]

If normal people are wondering why a group like this cares about something silly, just realize the "Tobacco Free Kids" is funded by Big Pharma companies peddling their own nicotine.

They don't care about children, tobacco, smoke, no smoke...as long as they keep their gravy train and six figure salaries.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Big Brother, Nanny State, Grant Junkie, Bogus Study, Junk Science, Social Engineering, Egalitarian, Central Planning, Sheeple Control, Food Cop, Smoke Nazi, Socialism, Collectivism PING

This is an extremely low volume ping list. 6 per week max. To be added to or deleted from this ping list, please click one of the following:

Eric, you are a genius add me to your ping list or Eric, you are a jackass, take me off this ping list

To request that I stop using these gay html colors and fonts, please send me a private message below.

____________________________________________________________________

Constitution of the Left Wing Nanny State of Liberals:

Picture courtesy of unixfox. All rights reserved. Copyright MMVII. Any use of the pictures descriptions or accounts of this ping without the express written consent of unixfox, Eric Blair, or Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited. Some restrictions apply. Ping not available in all states. For erections lasting longer than four hours, call the Guiness Book of World Records. Use only as directed.

Preamble:

We the People Sheeple of the United States Nanny State, in Order to form a more perfect Union Socialist Utopia, establish Justice Socially engineer a country of non smoking, physically fit, seat belt and helmet wearing teetotalers, ensure domestic Tranquility Smoking bans in bars, limits on unhealthy food and social drinking, provide for the common defense Universal Healthcare, promote the general Welfare health of the population whether they like it or not, in order to save above mentioned Universal Healthcare entitlement program from bankruptcy, and secure the Blessings of Liberty Dependency to ourselves progressive liberals and our Posterity Hitler Youth who we brainwash through public school education, do ordain decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Nanny State of Liberals.

If you are on my ping list, but hate my guts and wish to wage Jihad against me, please let me know and I will take you off. If you believe that I am a genius, an insightful "stand-up philosopher", a gentleman and a scholar, and above all HUMBLE, let me know and I will add you to my ping list.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Another group of commie lib busybodies with nothing better to do with their miserable little lives. I guess it does beat having to find a real job and working for a living though. Isn’t the commie nanny state great! Thanks Barry!

[wideminded]

Major League Baseball is a business. They made a business decision that it’s bad for their business image to have players chewing tobacco. I thought that FR usually defended the right of businesses to make business decisions.

[Uncle Slayton]

We are living in a 1984 Police State when hard working men cannot enjoy tobacco and perform their jobs without being monitored by high tech agents of the nanny state.

The working man has almost no rights in this nation.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Next it will be children at home, turning in their parents.

Haven’t we seen this movie before somewhere?...

[Ken H]

[easternsky]

Most High Profile Sports Figures Lifestyles has a few more Major Problems then Tobacco. Never saw ole Tiger Woods with a Chaw. lol

[The Antiyuppie]

Sounds like great training for the next generation of the Stasi!

1984 is HERE, and NOW!!!!!

[Eric Blair 2084]

Point well taken. You are right.

MLB can do whatever it wants voluntarily. Ban coffee, beer, hot dogs, cracker jacks...

But you are missing the point. This is an unenforceable social engineering experiment foisted on grown adults, the 750 best baseball players in the world who wipe their ass with $100 bills because nobody else on the planet can do what they do.

Pressure groups have a way of hijacking entertainment industries for the greater good, or for the chilruns (tm). It does work.

[Eric Blair 2084]

It really is scary how cultural norms and social engineering can effect the unwashed masses.

[dalereed]

That stupid game has always been known as scratch your ass and spit!

Without chewing tobacco the game is sunk!!!

[Eric Blair 2084]

What makes baseball great and uniquely American is that it is the only game where there is NO CLOCK.

You can’t take a knee, foul, play keep away...you have to get the last out.

You can’t hide or run out the clock.

[AGreatPer]

Wonder why baseball players don't put crap under their eyes for so called reduced reflection?

I will pay more attention the next few days to see if some are doing it. Not sure.

[TigersEye]

Where do I turn in commies, fascists, statists, socialists and other assorted a$$holes?

[NonValueAdded]

I can’t imagine what all the constant spitting looks like in high-def. Probably a reason behind the move. Will they ban pumpkin seeds too?