[Opinion] Slavery Contracts

It was only 20 years ago when the U.S. baseball association first introduced a free agent (FA) system to protect its major leaguers. Until then, players were not able to break up with their teams unless they retire since baseball was not subject to the antitrust law.

It was 1980, after a century past since the beginning of the league, when players won their 10 years-long battle to have FA in place. This demonstrates how hard it was to release players from the bondage set by team owners even in the U.S., the most vigorous human rights advocate.

Korean baseball is no different. Players, being heroes on the ground, remain as owners’ puppets. When they tried two years ago to form a union as in Japan, owners threatened to throw away the entire professional league. Although some players managed to launch a players association, those involved were like a thorn in the back to owners.

So are Kim Byung-hyun and many Korea players in U.S. leagues. If they ever come back, they will not be allowed to play for 5 years, a penalty against their abandoning the national league and also an indication of professional teams’ blatant selfishness.

Players call the current procedures and terms of contract as ‘slavery documents.’ Aren’t they pieces of paper used in the past when masters sold, handed over or gave their slaves to others? Therefore, some point out that the expression went too far given players’ popularity and annual salaries.

Then take a look at the facts. A player, once picked by a team, will not be able to leave for the next two years, and then the team will always have a key in salary negotiations. If he doesn’t like it, he will lose his job, and it means becoming jobless. From players’ viewpoint, it can be seen as a ‘slavery contract’ indeed.

The Fair Trade Commission issued citations to professional sports teams for their unfair policies. And we hope the FTC ruling will help players assert their rights. Sports players are not the ones trapped in slavery, however. Entertainers are also forced by their agencies to accept disadvantages. They are still better than prostitutes and foreign laborers whose rights are constantly ignored. Victims of those slavery contracts are everywhere in our society. Then, whose role is it to protect their human rights?

Choi Hwa-kyung/Editorial Writer