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Under the Sun Cynthia Oi |
American sport, airline
sullied by foolishnessNOW that the war is over -- or at least not giving Wolf Blitzer minute-by-minute, "what's-happening-right-now" conniptions -- we can turn our attention to other matters, like people behaving badly.
At the top of the list is Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, who fouled Cooperstown when he called off the 15th anniversary celebration of the greatest baseball movie ever made because two of its cast members have exercised their right to speak freely and he doesn't like what they had to say.
Petroskey canceled festivities for "Bull Durham" that were to feature Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, both of whom have been critical of the war and President Bush, as have many famous and not-so-famous Americans and other people worldwide. In a letter outlining his decision, Petroskey -- while graciously endorsing the actors' prerogative to express themselves -- wrote that their speaking out "ultimately could put our troops in even more danger."
Such silliness. Even though Sarandon and Robbins are excellent performers, I doubt they would have the influential power to imperil our military forces with their words.
Petroskey, an assistant press secretary under Ronald Reagan, went on to scold the actors, saying they have an "obligation to act and speak responsibly," which I guess means that he, as the umpire of what's responsible and not, can rule them out.
OK, the "Bull Durham" affair isn't a big deal. After all, it's only a fete for a movie -- at most, a People magazine snapshot moment. But that's what so disturbing about Petroskey's move. Afraid that Sarandon and Robbins -- whose longtime relationship sans marriage license peeves the abstinence- only conservative crowd -- might discuss their views at the event, he launched a pre-emptive strike to stifle them. In the process, he incited a war of words himself.
It appears that thousands of baseball fans expressed their objections and Petroskey has issued the now-common, all-purpose apology in which the offender doesn't right the wrong, but says he's sorry for the trouble he has caused.
He sounds a bit like Donald J. Carty, chief executive of AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines. The company has pressured its workers for huge wage concessions under threat of filing for bankruptcy.
Last week, after flight attendants and other employee unions agreed to $1.8 billion a year in labor give-backs, securities filings revealed that American planned to reward five of its top executives, including Carty, with bonuses equal to twice their salaries. It was also revealed that American had paid into a trust fund for supplementary pensions for 45 of its bosses, pensions that would be immune to bankruptcy where employees' pensions were subject to dissolution.
Of course, when the workers found out, they went ballistic. The company has since backed off, saying the executives had decided not to accept the bonuses, and Carty put out the standard "I'm sorry, so sorry," saying he should have told the unions about the salary perks during their negotiations, but that the pension fund, into which $41 million was paid last year, will stand as is. No wonder that workers have little regard for their leaders when it appears that they are only looking out for themselves, employees be damned.
Industry types contend such bonuses are necessary to retain executives, and that may well be. I'm far from being an expert in such matters, but I have to ask: What value is there in keeping company officers around if they've managed to run the business into the ground?
There are big differences in the consequences of Petroskey's and Carty's bad behavior. The latter's may result in the world's largest airline going belly up if unions rescind their concession agreements, which they seem likely to do. The Baseball Hall of Fame surely will survive Petroskey's bumbling. Still, his attempts to curb valid opinion before they are even voiced exemplifies the suppression many in and out of government offices condone. Both of these guys should be enrolled in the Hall of Shame.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin for 25 years.
She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.