GOP Leaders Warn Sports Leagues Not to Promote Obamacare
So this happened today: GOP Leaders Warn Pro Sports Leagues Not to Promote Obamacare.
Senate Republican leaders have sent letters warning six professional sports leagues not to provide the Obama administration any assistance in promoting Obamacare.
The letters, dated June 27, warn the chiefs of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Professional Golf Association and NASCAR that partnering with the administration to publicize the benefits of the health care law would damage their reputations.
“Given the divisiveness and persistent unpopularity of this bill, it is difficult to understand why an organization like yours would risk damaging its inclusive and apolitical brand by lending its name to its promotion,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX).
The letters come days after Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she’s spoken with the NFL about potentially partnering to let people know the benefits of the Affordable Care Act ahead of the implementation of its major components. (She said there was no deal yet.)
An update from TPM:
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told TPM the league has “no plans” to engage on Obamacare.
“We have responded to the letters we received from members of Congress to inform them we currently have no plans to engage in this area and have had no substantive contact with the administration about PPACA’s implementation,” McCarthy said in an email.
Asked about the suggestion that the administration may have been threatening or pressuring the NFL, McCarthy responded, “Not correct. [Q]uite simply, the NFL , NBA and others were contacted by the administration. We made no commitments nor discussed any substantive details with the administration.”
McConnell’s spokesman Michael Brumas told TPM that the senator “is not alleging the administration has threatened or pressured the sports leagues. See the next to the last graf of the letter which says ‘Should the administration,’ etc.”
