Sports & Politics Intersect: Power of NFL's Rooney Rule called into question

Need to know now:

• Daniel Snyder considering Civil War site for proposed stadium  - Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has clamored to leave FedEx Field for a new stadium for years, and he has recently pushed for a site that’s home to a Civil War battlefield in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, much to the chagrin of the conservationists who manage the grounds.The new stadium campaign is the latest in a long history of Snyder finding new ways to anger the team’s fan base as well as politicians throughout the D.C. region.

• Coyotes restate that they are committed to Arizona - The Arizona Coyotes, long mired in talks to build a new arena, said that they remain committed to finding a new home in the state, as rumors of a potential relocation to Houston have grown since the announcement that the team would be realigned to the Central Division in 2021.

• Cowboys’ stance on player protests at odds with some black fans - Since Jerry Jones announced that the Dallas Cowboys would require that their players would stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” African-American fans of the team have been conflicted between their support and reconciling Jones’ opposition.

• Air Force Academy to host 2020 NHL Stadium Series game - The NHL will bring an outdoor game to Falcon Stadium, home of the Colorado-based Air Force Academy, during the 2019-20 season. The home-state Avalanche will play an unnamed opponent.

• Third financier confirmed for MLB-to-Portland bid - Portland-based businessman Harvey Platt was confirmed to be a third financial backer to the Portland Diamond Project, which aims to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to the city. The larger backers, however, have yet to be publicly revealed.

• Celebrities and athletes got hooked on esports in 2018 - You couldn’t go a week through most of 2018 without hearing about the money in esports, but companies were not the only investors. From rap stars like Drake to legendary athletes like Shaquille O’Neal to big league owners like Robert Kraft, several prominent names threw their money into the competitions.

• Bay Area sports teams playing musical chairs with stadiums - With the Raiders and Warriors each having one foot out of the door in Oakland, the major pro and college teams in the Bay Area will either have new homes or share venues with transient teams at various points in the new year.

• Trustees support reviving Nassar victims’ fund - After Michigan State was criticized for rolling the $10 million Healing Assistance Fund into the school’s larger $500 million settlement with victims of disgraced former doctor Larry Nassar, several MSU trustees are supporting reviving the smaller pool as a separate fund. MSU said the initial fund was closed due to allegations of fraud.

• Qatar imposes heavy tax on alcohol, a challenge to World Cup visitors - Already strict on alcohol purchasing and consumption, Qatar essentially doubled the price on imported alcohol with a 100 percent excise tax. This is surely to impact some of the festivities for the 2022 men’s World Cup, as visitors will have to dig deeper into their pockets to sip any brew at the games.

• Chinese athletes risk jail time for doping - In advance of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, any Chinese athlete caught using performance-enhancing drugs will be criminally liable and potentially jailed, according to state media. (This may go into effect in the early part of 2019.) Meanwhile, World Anti-Doping Agency vice president Linda Hofstad Helleland would like for the organization to move swiftly against Russia after the beleaguered nation missed a deadline to submit data from its laboratory.

• Kristi Toliver making an intern’s pay as Wizards assistant - Washington Mystics star point guard Kristi Toliver has spent much of her offseason working as an assistant coach for the brother franchise Wizards. However, a previous agreement between the NBA and WNBA imposes a $50,000 limit in pay to WNBA players who work for the NBA franchise in the offseason. With most of those funds given to fellow Mystics star Elena Delle Donne, Toliver is working at an even more paltry $10,000.

• NFL enters partnership with Caesars Entertainment - Weeks after its fellow Big Four leagues struck deals with gaming companies, the NFL signed a pact with Caesars Entertainment, making the company “the official casino sponsor” of the league. The shifting attitude toward gambling will have an immediate impact, as the deal begins for this year’s playoffs.

• Shaq, DeAndre Hopkins lending support for family of slain child - Several celebrities and sports figures, including Shaquille O’Neal and Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins, are providing support to the family of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was killed in a shooting at a Walmart in Harris County. Hopkins will donate his wild-card game check to pay for her funeral.

• Salary for president of Outback Bowl intrigues and angers - If you want to capture the essence of the debate over compensation for student-athletes, comb through the reactions to The Washington Post profile of Jim McVay, who has run the Outback Bowl for the last 30 years and made $1 million in 2017 from a game played by unpaid players. This drew the public ire of Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), among others.

In sports and politics history: Nixon and the college football national champs  

“We expect our presidents to be one of us, and we expect them to be above us somehow. This was an effort to hit both of those things.” - Nicholas Evan Sarantakes on President Richard Nixon calling the 1969 college football champions

On Monday, the top two teams in the country will play for the collegiate football championship. Alabama and Clemson have been powerhouses, playing each other for the title for the third time in the last four years. (Alabama played Georgia last season; Clemson lost to Bama in the Playoff.) No matter the outcome on Monday, the nation’s president will not be the one to declare the national champion, as Richard Nixon did in December 1969. 

The circumstances that led to Texas’ 1969 national championship were a bit bizarre. That year was the 100th anniversary of college football as we know it. ABC’s Beano Cook convinced Southwest Conference rivals Texas and Arkansas to move their game, which was originally scheduled for October, up to Dec. 6. In November, Michigan upset then No. 1 Ohio State, which moved Texas and Arkansas to Nos. 1 and 2 in the country, respectively. 

The two schools would maintain their national rankings until their December meeting and would play with sitting president Richard Nixon in the house. Former president Lyndon Johnson and future president (then congressman) George H.W. Bush were in the building, too. If that wasn’t enough, Arkansas native Bill Clinton listened to the game on the radio. 

Nixon accepted an invitation to the game and predicted that it would be one of the “great football games of all time” to Arkansas governor, Winthrop Rockefeller. And a hell of a game it was. Leading 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter, Arkansas seemed to be in control, with its defense playing beautifully. However, a 42-yard touchdown scramble by Texas quarterback James Street and a two-point conversion made it a 14-8 game. Another late touchdown gave Texas a 15-14 lead that would be the final margin. 

Following Texas’ win — the last championship game that would feature zero black athletes — Nixon would declare Texas the national champions. There would be, at the very least, a bit of frustration in central Pennsylvania, though. Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions were undefeated, and after Nixon tried to issue the team a second-place plaque, Paterno became enraged and got into a quasi-political spat with Nixon for decades. 

Meanwhile, Nixon would forego any opportunities to call the national champion again. There was nothing left to be gained politically, and designating the game an annual event would make the title more about Nixon than about college football. Nixon continued to watch, however, and even called the winning coaches of the Cotton and Rose Bowl games the next year. But he will always be tied to the 100th anniversary championship game — one of the greatest college football games of all time.