Buckaroo
02-24-10, 18:38
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/02/mlb-bans-guns-from-clubhouse/1
Major League Baseball is making it clear to players as they arrive to camp: Keep guns out of the clubhouse. Signs are posted in locker rooms stating "individuals are prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB."
The rule applied last season, but signs were not posted.
"The commissioner's office negotiated the policy with the union, as it applies to players," players' association head Michael Weiner said. "The content of the notice itself was not agreed to by the union."
The rules were adopted after former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself at a nightclub. And last month, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas after he brought guns to the Verizon Center.
One Players Response:
Guns in the Clubhouse Are Just Fine With Ryan Franklin
There are new signs around Major League Baseball clubhouses alongside the ones reminding players that gambling is against the rules of the game. They advise players that they are "prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB."
The rule actually went into effect last season, after the league negotiated it with the union, but the signs are a new addition and have given the rule a visibility that it didn't have in the past. Given what's happened in recent years with Plaxico Burress and Gilbert Arenas, it seems that baseball is taking the rather sensible approach that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That's just my opinion, though, and it is one that Ryan Franklin of the Cardinals doesn't share.
Franklin, described by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as an avid outdoorsman, doesn't like the ban on firearms in the clubhouse. "If you grew up around it, being in the outdoors and stuff, I was taught as a young kid how to respect firearms," Franklin said following Saturday's workout. "First of all, you don't get stupid with it. Always treat a gun like it's loaded. That's what I taught my son and daughters. There's a place for them."
"There are a few guys that screwed it up for everybody. If it wasn't for the NFL guy a couple years ago bringing a weapon into a nightclub ... you've just got to be smart."
Franklin's argument is a good one for why there shouldn't be a blanket ban on firearms but it doesn't really address why he would need to bring a gun with him to work. There aren't many workplaces that would be okay with allowing employees to bring guns to work, and Franklin's comments do a fine job of explaining why.
You have to be smart and, at the same time, you have to protect against the fact that not everyone is smart about the way they handle guns and other weapons. Look no further than the Burress and Arenas incidents for examples of how wrong things can go when people aren't smart about it. There are other ways that Franklin can show off his new hunting rifle to teammates without having the firearms in the clubhouse.
The MLB rule accepts that you can't legislate intelligence so it does the next best thing and legislates the amount of damage that stupidity can do in their work environment.
Now if we could just do something about overly elaborate goatees.
Too bad for Mr. Franklin and other responsible gun owners. Obviously the writer of the second article does not understand us.
There are other ways that Franklin can show off his new hunting rifle to teammates without having the firearms in the clubhouse.
Buckaroo
Major League Baseball is making it clear to players as they arrive to camp: Keep guns out of the clubhouse. Signs are posted in locker rooms stating "individuals are prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB."
The rule applied last season, but signs were not posted.
"The commissioner's office negotiated the policy with the union, as it applies to players," players' association head Michael Weiner said. "The content of the notice itself was not agreed to by the union."
The rules were adopted after former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself at a nightclub. And last month, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas after he brought guns to the Verizon Center.
One Players Response:
Guns in the Clubhouse Are Just Fine With Ryan Franklin
There are new signs around Major League Baseball clubhouses alongside the ones reminding players that gambling is against the rules of the game. They advise players that they are "prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB."
The rule actually went into effect last season, after the league negotiated it with the union, but the signs are a new addition and have given the rule a visibility that it didn't have in the past. Given what's happened in recent years with Plaxico Burress and Gilbert Arenas, it seems that baseball is taking the rather sensible approach that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That's just my opinion, though, and it is one that Ryan Franklin of the Cardinals doesn't share.
Franklin, described by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as an avid outdoorsman, doesn't like the ban on firearms in the clubhouse. "If you grew up around it, being in the outdoors and stuff, I was taught as a young kid how to respect firearms," Franklin said following Saturday's workout. "First of all, you don't get stupid with it. Always treat a gun like it's loaded. That's what I taught my son and daughters. There's a place for them."
"There are a few guys that screwed it up for everybody. If it wasn't for the NFL guy a couple years ago bringing a weapon into a nightclub ... you've just got to be smart."
Franklin's argument is a good one for why there shouldn't be a blanket ban on firearms but it doesn't really address why he would need to bring a gun with him to work. There aren't many workplaces that would be okay with allowing employees to bring guns to work, and Franklin's comments do a fine job of explaining why.
You have to be smart and, at the same time, you have to protect against the fact that not everyone is smart about the way they handle guns and other weapons. Look no further than the Burress and Arenas incidents for examples of how wrong things can go when people aren't smart about it. There are other ways that Franklin can show off his new hunting rifle to teammates without having the firearms in the clubhouse.
The MLB rule accepts that you can't legislate intelligence so it does the next best thing and legislates the amount of damage that stupidity can do in their work environment.
Now if we could just do something about overly elaborate goatees.
Too bad for Mr. Franklin and other responsible gun owners. Obviously the writer of the second article does not understand us.
There are other ways that Franklin can show off his new hunting rifle to teammates without having the firearms in the clubhouse.
Buckaroo