On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS May 25, 2015 #542 Coming next…Rite of Passage?
After further review…It was thrilling to see 23,239 San Diego Padre fans attend the ceremonies at Petco Park on June 26, 2014 to pay tribute to “Mr. Padre,” Tony Gwynn, the Hall-of-Famer who played his entire 20-year career with the Padres. Oh, there wasn’t a game being played and, no, Gwynn wasn’t there. Gwynn had died of oral cancer ten days earlier. Well, maybe he was there in spirit and hopefully, his spirit left a clear message.
His death is officially recorded as “salivary gland cancer”. While there are no conclusive studies that compare chewing tobacco to mouth or throat cancer, Gwynn was “absolutely convinced” that “dipping” was the cause of his cancer. Near the end of his life he spoke of its dangers. Yet baseball players still dip in large number. In fact, a recent story on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” program asserted that it is almost “expected” of young players entering professional baseball.
Many years ago Major League Baseball banned the smoking of cigarettes on the field. (Yes, players used to smoke on the field between innings and breaks in the action.) More recently MLB has asked its players and coaches to keep their dip – also called “chew,” “snuff,” and “chaw” — out of the sight of fans. You kiddin’ me? Just observe the dugout behavior of any MLB T*E*A*M and you’ll see the unsightliness of all that brown spittle.
So if smokeless tobacco is dangerous to a player’s health and repugnant to a great many fans, why doesn’t MLB ban it from the field? If you call the Major League Baseball Players Association you will likely get this answer: It’s a civil liberties issue. That’s the union saying MLB cannot dictate the personal habits of its players. About one-third of MLB players today dip, yet, the other two-thirds remain silent. Some suspect that the MLBPA would go along with a ban on smokeless tobacco, but will hold that “card” as a bargaining chip in further negotiations with MLB powerbrokers. Meanwhile, more will suffer with cancer and die as the bargaining chip remains.
Although minor leagues have banned smokeless tobacco, huge numbers of young players idolize MLB players as they watch games on television. Even with some major league stars issuing warnings about the dangers, those messages fall on deaf ears to the young idolizer, who believes that dipping is a part of baseball greatness.
Will you help young baseball players avoid the dangers of smokeless tobacco?
To contact Jim go to www.jimtunney.com or email him jim@jimtunney.com.
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