Shooters Seeing Red Over NFL's Vest Rule

Sports photogs are a famously independent bunch. They do what they do and they don't wanna be hassled. Now the NFL is driving their association crazy with a new scheme: Starting this fall, every shooter on the sidelines of NFL games must wear a red vest with a Canon and a Reebok logo on it.

The National Press Photographers Association is not happy and they're fighting back. "I think it's extremely unfortunate that the NFL, after limiting the number of local video photojournalists on the sidelines (last season), is now attempting to turn them into roving billboards," attorney and former photojournalist Mickey H. Osterreicher said today in Buffalo, NY, where for many years he covered the NFL's Buffalo Bills before becoming a lawyer who specializes in First Amendment and press freedom issues.

"I would strongly suggest that any news organization whose photographers are required to wear such vests protest the requirement in the strongest of terms."

The shooters say that by making them don these stupid vests, they'll be breaking their own rules, that prohibit accepting gifts, favors or compensation from those who are trying to influence coverage.

Larry Roberts of hte Pittsburgh Post Gazette blasted back: I am fully against my staffers being used as billboards for companies which we may or may not support. The Post-Gazette, as a paper, uses Nikon equipment. I am sure Canon will love seeing their name behind a Nikon. ... Or, will we now be prohibited from covering NFL events if we do not use Canon cameras? And by the way, I am sure that the photographs will be so much better with flashes of red drawing a reader's eyes away from the action."

Does the USA Need Another Football League?

We're down in New Jersey visiting my parents in their lovely home in Blawenburg. Mom's garden is luscious, and in full bloom. One thing I love about visiting here is how many fascinating newspapers and magazines are all around us. I picked up the NY Times Sunday sports magazine and read a piece by Joe Nocera about a new professional football league being planned for 2008. It's a long shot and the path is littered with failed endeavors: remember the pathetic USFL, or the wrestling style XFL?

Nocera interviews Bill Hambrecht, and describes him as "a rich old Wall Street guy, who has made his money tilting at windmills and disrupting the establishment." He scans the horizon of today's NFL and identifies some weakness--in 21 of the top 50 markets, there is no NFL team. So these are the target cities for the new United Football League.

The other question is talent, but this hurdle is easier to overcome than it appears. According to Bill Walsh, the legendary SF coach, "the last 20 players cut from every team were almost interchangeable with the last 20 players to make the team." So there will not be a problem getting good talent on the field.

The other opening being exploited by the new league is a 1961 law prohibiting NFL games on Friday nights. That was to preserve the traditional high school football games. But the UFL can jump in and possibly televise their games on a nationwide cable network like USA, TNT or Versus, owned by Comcast.

Hambrecht has another ace in the hole: outspoken and super rich Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban wants to be an owner. Nothing Cuban does goes unnoticed, which will mean good publicity. The UFL's scheme is to have each owner put up $30 million and the public buys shares for the same amount. So the owner, the league and the fans will all be owners.