NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION January
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE mi January 15, 1988 Irving Louis Horowitz Office of the President Transaction Publishers Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 Dear Irving: Enclosed, find the issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED with the article about me in it, page 44. I read your, "Monopolization & Publishing and Crisis in Higher Education." Given the "crisis" nature inherent in the monopolization of the publishing industry, it's a good thing we the people have Trans-Action doing its valuable thing. Does this represent a trend generally speaking in the U.S. and capitalist world, i.e., the monopolization of various economic sectors by a relatively few huge corporations? I continue to read Communicating Ideas. As usual, you have hit the mark, timing wise, with excellent analysis of a key social and political issue. The old saw, "information is power" has a strong ring of truth. More importantly, who generates and controls the flow of information is the key issue. I think the impact of television on how we think about the social reality has been underrated. What kind of information the great collective "we" are getting and in what context. I know this is over generalizing but as you recall, we faced the form/substance dialectic with the scab games. How right was Tex Schramm when he said, "it's the uniforms people want to see, not the people inside the uniforms." Another issue is the rising cost of "hard copy" printed matter, magazines and books. I think twice about spending $19.95 for a hard cover book or $2.00 to $3.00 for a magazine. Information is costly, and we are still not National Headquarters: 1300 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 • Tele: (202) 463-2200* TWX 710-822-0192 Western Regional Office: 450 Harrison St., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94105 • Tele: (415) 546-7866 Irving Louis Horowitz Page Two January 15, 1988 talking about, personal computers, modems and high transmission costs. So then we are left with various elites, with access to information, making decisions or developing perspectives about social policy. I see this every time I do a team visit, a young largely uninformed T.V. generation juxtaposed against an informed "elite" with access to information. I'm not saying pro-football players can't afford the price of a book or magazine, the fact is they don't read much and probably derive much of their information and perspective about the world from television. Yet there is a real understanding of self-interest, but not the understanding of the complexities of how to achieve it. I realize that this is an old problem of intellectuals, technical elites and other "brain workers," being separate from the people effected by the elite's productions. Herman Kahn's criticisms of the New Class bears down hard at this juncture, which seems to stay in place regardless of what information technology is used. Whether this gap is increasing is a key guestion as you point out. Twenty per cent of our adult population is functionally illiterate. Clearly, the opportunity to inform and to be informed as an interactive function, rather than a passive response is a promise the new technology holds. I believe many tax dollars must be spent to not only raise literacy standards but to take the next step and educate to computer literacy. Otherwise most of us will be in the techno-peasant class, and the new Luddites will rise up and smash the terminals. A many facited problem which I'm opening my eyes to while reading Communicating Ideas. Let me know what you think about the idea of the symposium I mentioned in my last letter. I hope to be back East the end of January. I'll give you a call. My regards, David Meggyesy Western Director DM:s f r Enclosure Still on the Outside Nearly two decades ago Dave Meggyesy took on the NFL in rick's bed, his old man is an earnest his scathing book. Now as a union man his struggle continues St. Louis Cardinal about to dehumanize a Dallas Cowboy on a distant Sunday afternoon. BY DAVID REM NICK "I love that picture," says Patrick. "It makes me proud of my father." BOVE HIS BED 14-YEAR-OLD PAT- cal linebacker who announced to the Patrick is a wispy, intelligent kid who rick Meggyesy has tacked up a world that "when society changes in the wears his hair tied back in a ponytail; black-and-white photograph way I hope it will, football will be obso he's just the sort of youth you would ex of his old man. It's not one of lete." Nor does the picture show the pect to find living in Berkeley, Calif. He the angry images of Dave man who called football a militaristic talks about a "nuclear-free Berkeley," AMeggyesy that people dimly remember "rationalization" for the war in Viet reads Carlos Castaneda and goes to a ju from nearly two decades ago: the in nam, a racist sport "that is one of the nior high school organized on the princi flamed, bearded jock raging against the most dehumanizing experiences a per ples of A.S. Neill's progressive school, bullet-headed lords of football, the radi- son can face." In the picture over Pat Summerhill. / \ \ V 0 \ July. Right now the strongest positions are quarterback and receiver. The offen sive line, which has only five players, is pathetic. "I can't imagine trying to play NBC WAS STRIKINGLY SUPERIOR these games with players who haven't been in our system," says coach Tom BC WHICH USED TO BE MORE union chief Gene Upshaw and the Landry, who surveys the action from interested in yuks and stu owners' man, Jack Donlan. When atop a three-story-high platform. He dio audiences than in hard- Upshaw dropped a small bombshell, makes notes on a clipboard and directs nosed journalism on its revealing that he had talked that day two videotape cameramen. NFL pregame show, beat to a "mystery man" who might be By week's end more than 400 hope CBNS up and down the line of scrim able to settle the strike, Gifford cut to fuls have phoned the Cowboys, offering mage in coverage of the strike. a commercial and then to an inter their services on the field. Bill Westfall, On Sunday both networks expanded view with Mike Singletary of the a Cowboy security guard, turns away a their shows from half an hour to an Bears without asking Upshaw to truck driver who shows up at the gate to hour and jettisoned their traditional identify his secret contact. (It turned the team's facility, but not before the fel formats of profiles and game predic out to be Pete Rozelle, of course.) low rips open his shirt and declares, tions. The NFL Today on CBS was Producer Mike Pearl must share "Look at this body! And I don't even lift unmasked as little more than the some blame for not ordering Gifford weights." But the Cowboys do sign re Brent Musburger Show, while NFL to at least say, Who, Gene? ceiver Clay Pickering, who has bumped Live proved capable of addressing around the NFL since 1984 without ever the important questions. catching a pass and has worked most re NBC anchorman Bob Costas ze cently as a glazier in New York. They roed in on his guests in Koppelesque also pluck kicker Tom Dixon, who led style. One of the striking players, Jim the CFL in scoring last year for the Ed Kelly of the Bills, told him that whole monton Eskimos, from an island off teams may start crossing picket lines Western Canada, where he was working before long. Bob Trumpy and Jimmy in his father's lumberyard. Cefalo, NFL Live's point-counter "You can't help but get caught up in point duo—Trumpy sides with man the novelty of this," says Paul Hackett, agement, Cefalo with the players— the Cowboys' pass-offense coordinator. raised salient issues. For example, Hackett predicts scab ball will look like Trumpy argued that the owners are the old AFL games—lots of wide-open holding the line on free agency in play. "These teams won't be in the ball fear of Al Davis's buying an entire park of the NFL," says Hackett, "but team with the proceeds from his they don't have to be. The kids are so en planned move to Irwindale. thusiastic—it's their chance at a dream. Although Musburger delivered a They're fun to coach." strong commentary on the strike two No player is more enthusiastic than weeks ago, on Sunday CBS danced Kevin Sweeney, the former Fresno State around the real issues, such as wheth Trumpy got his points across on 'NFL Live.' quarterback who was Dallas's seventh- er the players would cross the picket round pick last spring. Cut on Sept. 7, lines and the reasons the scab games NBC also merited applause for Sweeney was considering retiring from are being played. The story certainly showing a Tigers-Blue Jays game on football. Real estate beckoned. So did wasn't the history of trade unionism Sunday afternoon. A boo to CBS for five NFL teams when the strike broke as told by reporter Anne Butler or a dusting off a videotape of last sea out. "I thought it was morally wrong to meet-me-in-Las Vegas routine with son's Super Bowl. CBS's lack of cross a picket line," Sweeney says.