Violators of tobacco ban face additional discipline from MLB
Though several Major League Baseball players have voiced their displeasure with new laws banning smokeless tobacco from certain ballparks, any league employee found violating these laws will face supplemental discipline from the commissioner's office, according to MLB chief legal counsel Dan Halem.
"Players or anybody in baseball found to have violated a law are subject to discipline from the commissioner," Halem told ESPN's "Outside the Lines." "Smokeless tobacco laws are no different."
Earlier this week, the New York City Council passed legislation that would prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco products at all ticketed baseball stadiums (and other sports arenas), and similar bans have already been enacted in Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Any player found violating these new bans face municipal fines, and the league appears inclined to levy discipline of their own, as well.
Provisions pertaining to smokeless tobacco in the current CBA don't explicitly ban its use during games - uniformed personnel can't have a dip in, though, for televised interviews - but, with the new laws in place, the commissioner can invoke "just cause" to punish any player who violates the law if he deems that behavior to be "detrimental" to the game.
According to one source from the MLBPA who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the players' union wouldn't take kindly to this kind of action from the commissioner's office.
"MLB would have a fight on their hands if they attempt to discipline players under the 'Just Cause' provision," the source said.
Last week, as the possibility of a ban in Chicago was bandied about, several Cubs players expressed their reservations about potentially having to give up their chew.
"We're grown men. People in the stands can have a beer but we can't do what we want?" John Lackey told ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "That's a little messed up."
"It's going to be hard because you're an addict, pretty much," Miguel Montero added. "It'll be tough to quit cold turkey."