A 'un-American' Hypocrite

Survey time! When I say "un-American," you think?

Names that should pop into every "American" mind should include Timothy McVeigh, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the D.C. Snipers. Now, raise your hand if Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig came to mind?

That's what I thought. But "un-American" is exactly the term used today to describe MLB's leader by bewildered Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt when discussing last weeks takeover by Selig. According to several media outlets, McCourt claimed the Selig and his big bully friends are unlawfully seizing one mans property. Ironic, isn't it?

Here is a solution for McCourt. Take a good, long look in the mirror, and go back to Boston. Frank McCourt is hypocrisy at it's worst, and this is just another fine example. If anyone has indeed been "un-American" it has been McCourt himself. Stealing money from the team to fund soon-to-be ex-wife and current co-owner Jamie's lavish lifestyle is certainly a start. And while I personally have no issue with a business owner increasing his own salary to help cover extra play-time on the side, McCourt took it about 18,000 steps too far.

Paying his children millions to party with their friends, taking money from Dodger charities that existed far before McCourt even dreamed of living it up with Alyssa Milano, and flat lying to the people who helped fund those wrong-doings (aka the fans) is certainly a little "un-American", don't you think?

McCourt has personified "un-American" and soon enough the walls will come crashing down on McCourt's fairytale kingdom. While every baseball fan in the City of Angels (another ironic name, considering the Los Angeles Angels success over the last 10 years)is praising MLB, McCourt is crying foul. He strongly hinted at taking legal action against Selig, but that's on hold while McCourt find's someone else to borrow $30 million from, this time to pay the legal fees that it would indeed take to battle the execs at the MLB offices in New York.

If MLB's seizure of the Dodgers was indeed illegal and "un-American" than why is the FBI investigating McCourt and his family? Shouldn't they be investigating Selig? This is the part where I defer to the legal experts, and those experts don't appear to have any issue with Selig's decision last week.

The only illegal thing Frank McCourt knows about is stealing money from the fans, the paying customers, and every advertiser at Dodger Stadium. He's promised to reinvest all of the extra revenue gained from increased ads and ticket prices, yet the teams payroll continues to plummet below the baseball Mendoza line ($100 million). And even with the decreased payroll, the team had to borrow $30 million just earlier this month just to pay Juan Uribe and Tony Gwynn, Jr.

So let's review. An "un-American" is someone who:

Steals money from charities to fund personal houses? Yes.

Someone who promises investors (fans) a return on their investment (wins, superstars, World Series appearances, safety) and then delivers the exact opposite? Sounds right.

Someone who fails to defend himself when criticized, and instead attacks others so his ridiculous practices fly under the radar? Sure.

Someone (Selig) who has the power to, and exercises his right to save the aforementioned investments before the investment (the Dodgers) become irrelevant permanently? Uh, no.

So tell me, now when you think of "un-American", who do you think of? The man who (along with his wife and children) stole money from 3-million fans per year for close to a decade, or the man who is giving those fans hope?