The New York Yankees have become pivotal players in an ugly political mess involving New York Governor David Paterson.
Three Yankee officials testified in front of the Public Integrity Commission, which is investigating the governor's initial failure to pay for Yankee tickets during the 2009 World Series. They turned out to be key witnesses in the case against the governor, testifying about how he and his staff invited themselves to the game and then refused to pay for their seats until a reporter started asking questions.
The Yankees must be very uncomfortable with the mere notion of their officials testifying against the governor of New York, even if he is leaving office relatively soon. They must have cringed knowing that their testimony would reflect badly on the governor's failure to pay for baseball seats at the new stadium that most of us can only dream of sitting in.
But this is the kind of political mess even private organizations like the Yankees become vulnerable to when lobbying for favors and benefits from the government, as the Yankees did with the new Yankee Stadium. Does that mean they will stop lobbying the government for anything they can get? Definitely not. Will they be more careful the next time some high-profile government official calls to ask for seats? No question.
I guess it's the price of doing business in New York.
Three Yankee officials testified in front of the Public Integrity Commission, which is investigating the governor's initial failure to pay for Yankee tickets during the 2009 World Series. They turned out to be key witnesses in the case against the governor, testifying about how he and his staff invited themselves to the game and then refused to pay for their seats until a reporter started asking questions.
The Yankees must be very uncomfortable with the mere notion of their officials testifying against the governor of New York, even if he is leaving office relatively soon. They must have cringed knowing that their testimony would reflect badly on the governor's failure to pay for baseball seats at the new stadium that most of us can only dream of sitting in.
But this is the kind of political mess even private organizations like the Yankees become vulnerable to when lobbying for favors and benefits from the government, as the Yankees did with the new Yankee Stadium. Does that mean they will stop lobbying the government for anything they can get? Definitely not. Will they be more careful the next time some high-profile government official calls to ask for seats? No question.
I guess it's the price of doing business in New York.
Thanks to David Shankbone via Wikipedia for the photo.
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