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15 Drexel L. Rev. 399 (2023)
Congress Is Reinstating the Color Line: How the Save America's Pastime Act and the Judicial Antitrust Exemption Contribute to Racial Inequity in Professional Baseball

handle is hein.journals/drexel15 and id is 415 raw text is: CONGRESS IS REINSTATING THE COLOR LINE: HOW THE SAVE AMERICA'S PASTIME ACT AND THE JUDICIAL ANTITRUST EXEMPTION CONTRIBUTE TO RACIAL INEQUITY IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL Lindsey Gellar* ABSTRACT Racial inequity is a common theme in the United States, and America's pastime is no exception. Black representation in professional baseball has been on the decline for decades since its peak of nearly 20%. The law compounds on inequitable economic and political systems to make it more difficult for Black American-born baseball players to survive in the minor leagues and eventually make it to the major leagues. The Supreme Court created a federal antitrust exemption in 1922 that was upheld in subsequent cases. Later, the Curt Flood Act of 1998 made the federal antitrust exemption inapplicable to Major League Baseball players but not Minor League Baseball players. The Fair Labor Standards Act protects workers by establishing the federal minimum wage and requiring overtime compensation; however, in 2018, the Save America's Pastime Act exempted professional baseball from the overtime requirements. These laws allow major league organizations to pay minor league players below a living wage, essentially requiring that players have external financial support. Protection of minor league players requires a solution that both (1) ensures players are paid a fair wage for their time working and (2) provides players with the flexibility to fairly contract their employment. To satisfy the first prong, Congress must repeal the Save J.D. Candidate, 2023, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law; B.S. Cell Biology/ Biochemistry, 2020, Bucknell University. I would like to thank Julia Lueddeke for her critical insight and feedback. I would also like to thank my parents, Steve and Evelyn Gellar, not only for their love and support but also for introducing me to the game of baseball. 399