Aug

7

There’s No Crying in Baseball (Unless OFAC Gets Involved)

Posted by at 5:48 pm on August 7, 2013
Category: Cuba Sanctions • OFAC

There is no better proof that comprehensive sanctions are useless and silly than this: U.S. sanctions on Cuba are going to prevent the participation of Cuba’s national baseball team in the Caribbean Series which will take place next February in Venezuela and will not involve any U.S. teams. Founded in 1949, with Cuba as one of the original founders, Cuba played in the annual series until 1961 when Castro banned professional sports on the island.

So there was quite a bit of excitement when several months ago Cuba said it would return to the series. But just as the excitement for mighty Casey faded when he struck out, hopes were quickly dashed for Cuba’s time at bat when OFAC struck them out before they could even get to the plate. Apparently the organizers of the Caribbean Series received a letter from Major League Baseball saying that players signed with the MLB couldn’t play in the tournament if Cuba participated. Most of the Carribean league players already have MLB contracts, even if only with the minor leagues, so excluding players with MLB contracts is a non-starter. And no one knows whether OFAC licenses could be obtained at all, much less in time.

MLB’s theory about the application of the sanctions to players under contract with the League is a bit bizarre, to say the least. Last time I checked, signing a contract with the MLB does not turn the player automatically into a U.S. person (or even an honorary one). I suppose the fear is that even if the player is playing in his personal capacity as a member of one of the Caribbean leagues he is still somehow a Major League player and this would bring down the wrath of OFAC on MLB. That being said, given the huge fines that OFAC can impose and the general perception that OFAC doesn’t play fairly, I can understand MLB’s reticence to run this risk.

One thing is certain: banning Cuba from the Caribbean series will not lead the current Cuban government to abdicate; nor will itwin the U.S. any friends among ordinary Cubans.

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Copyright © 2013 Clif Burns. All Rights Reserved.
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5 Comments:

I can kinda sorta see how non-US players having contracts with MLB might be deemed employees/agents of MLB, giving OFAC an arguable jurisdictional handle to grasp. But what, exactly, would be the conduct or transaction prohibited by the regs? Does mere participation in a multinational tournament convey some sort of restricted financial benefit to Cuba? Or is pitching/hitting/fielding against Cuban players an unauthorized export of services to those players, even if the games take place in a third country? I’d genuinely like to understand OFAC’s legal theory here.

Along the same lines, I wonder how this issue is handled during the Olympics and other sporting events involving mutiple countries. Are licenses obtained, does OFAC take differing positions, or are US athletes simply supposed to refuse to compete against Cubans?

Comment by Pat on August 8th, 2013 @ 10:57 am

    [Start Sarcasm] The problem is when an MLB pitcher pitches a ball that the Cuban hits. The game would be okay as long as the Cuban players always struck out. [End Sarcasm]

    Comment by Clif Burns on August 8th, 2013 @ 2:24 pm

I thought about the Olympics, too. Don’t all the sanctioned countries participate in one way or another? How do the US athletes and the US Olympic committee assuage the fears that the MLB is having?

Comment by Im A Good on August 8th, 2013 @ 11:42 am

    OFAC issued a license to permit Cuba to play in the Atlanta Games in 1996 (largely because the U.S. would never host the Games again if it did not), but your point about Olympic Games outside the United States is a good one. Under this theory, OFAC could fine U.S. athletes that competed against Cubans abroad. Perhaps even OFAC has limits about how foolish it is willing to appear since sending charging letters to U.S. Olympians would probably create a ruckus.

    Comment by Clif Burns on August 8th, 2013 @ 2:31 pm

I’m confused. I don’t see any reference in the linked article to anything from OFAC. Don’t mistake this for a defense of OFAC. Maybe MLB obtained an advisory opinion from OFAC that led to this letter. If not, we’ll never know what OFAC’s legal theory for jurisdiction might be. This action is just shameful.

Comment by Theming on August 9th, 2013 @ 5:36 pm