Opposing State Senator Scott Wiener's Legislation to Require Specified Percentages of Jewish Players on All Professional Sports Teams and in All Professional Sporting Competitions
A more nuanced opposition to Senator Wiener's legislation designed to curb Anti-Semitism, Recognize the Holocaust and Other Historic Atrocities Committed Against Jews, and Promote Support for Israel
Recently, in the name of combatting anti-Semitism and supporting the State of Israel, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced SB-5465, legislation requiring that all professional sports teams located in California include a minimum percentage of active Jewish players on their rosters and all professional sports competitions maintain a minimum percentage of Jewish competitors.1
Co-authored by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose), SB-5465 is part of a broader package of legislation introduced by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus designed to (1) combat anti-Semitism, (2) increase support for the State of Israel, and (3) acknowledge the historical atrocities committed against the Jewish people including the Holocaust and Inquisition.2
SB-5465 sets out the following standards:
It defines “professional sports team” to include, among others, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, National Football League, National Lacrosse League, or Major League Soccer team that is situated in California. It also includes any subsidiary team of those sports that is located in California.
It defines “professional sporting event” to include, among others, any sporting competition hosted by the Professional Golfer’s Association, Association of Tennis Professionals, World Swimming Federation, World Boxing Organization, National Bicycle League, or American Fencing League that takes place in California.
It requires that the number of Jewish active roster players on a professional sports team must be equal to at least 3% of the number of starters on that sports team or at least one (1) player, whichever number is greater.
It requires that Jews must comprise a minimum of 3% of all competition participants at professional sporting events held in California or have at least one (1) competition participant who is Jewish, whichever number is greater.
It broadly defines what it means to be a Jew by including anyone who is religiously a Jew (including Reconstructionist Jews but excluding Nazarene Jews), ethnically a Jew (with a minimum 10% Jewish ancestry), or “self-identifies” as a Jew.
It includes a legislative finding of fact that California has collective responsibility for the Holocaust, the mid 20th century ethnic cleansing and removal of Jews from Arab states and Iran, the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes, and the late 19th century Russian pogroms against Jews.
It further includes a legislative finding of fact that the response to the October 7th, 2023 attacks against Israel have uncovered deep wells of systemic anti-Semitism in California life and that such anti-Semitism accounts for the “severe underrepresentation” of Jewish players on professional sports teams and Jewish professional athletes competing in professional sporting events.
According to Senator Wiener, Jews only comprise 1.2% of all professional sports team athletes in the United States despite Jews comprising nearly 3% of the population. “The only reason for this disparity,” he says, “is the systemic anti-Semitism that we have seen on full display in the current anti-Semitic protests against Israel.”
Although likely to pass the California State Legislature, it’s not certain whether Governor Gavin Newsom would sign the legislation into law. (In separate interviews, Governor Newsom told Politico reporter Carla Marinucci that he would sign the bill, told KCRA 5 reporter Ashley Zavalla that he would veto the bill, told FOX 11 News anchor Elex Michaelson that he was undecided, and told LA Times reporter Seema Mehta that he hadn’t formed an opinion about SB-5465 as he hadn’t read the bill yet).
Given that it could become law, SB-5465 has been fairly controversial, generating some heated opposition and some emotional debate.
Amidst this debate, Senator Wiener has accused opponents of being anti-Semitic and denying the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks in Israel, as well as the Holocaust (which he argues the State of California owes reparations to Jewish residents for, since he believes that California was collectively responsible for the atrocity).
Indeed, in addition to the usual death threats against members of the California State Legislature and used tampon throwing that most proposed legislation from Senator Wiener usually brings about, some of SB-5465’s opponents have taken to social media to question whether the Holocaust actually took place. At a UC Berkeley Rally for Hamas, one student leader claimed that Hollywood writers invented the Holocaust.
After a recent rally by the Proud Boys against SB-5465 that featured an address by David Duke and an attempted stand up comedy routine by Kyle Rittenhouse (that bombed), Senator Wiener gleefully took to Twitter to declare “Opposition to SB-5465 was never about fairness in sports. It was always about supporting white supremacy, the heteronormative patriarchy, and anti-Semitism.”
While not all opponents of SB-5465 have gone so far as to deny the Holocaust, many have repeated anti-Semitic tropes and stereotypes, frequently using lines like “there are no Jews on professional sports teams because Jews can’t play sports”, “Jews just aren’t natural athletes”, and “this is just another greedy Jewish scheme to make money by depriving others of their truly earned opportunities.”
Although it has been introduced as legislation to stop anti-Semitism and help Israel, SB-5465 has drawn opposition from many current and former professional athletes who also happen to be Jewish.
Among others:
Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Joc Pederson. Pederson, who was a two-time world champion with the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers and 2021 Atlanta Braves, labeled SB-5465 “denigrating” to current Jewish professional athletes. The multiple time All Star added that in his experience, being Jewish “never had any impact on my playing career or whether I made the starting line up.”
Former Los Angeles Laker guard and two-time NBA champion Jordan Farmar, who has often credited his Israeli step-father, Yehuda Kolani, for instilling the discipline in him necessary to become an NBA player. claimed that SB-5465 reinforced untrue and negative stereotypes about Jews and might discourage talented Jewish athletes from pursuing their natural athletic abilities.
Charlotte Hornets Shooting Guard Amari Bailey, who called SB-5465 “counterproductive” and stated “I think anti-Semitic discrimination against me as a Jew is wrong because it is both racist and religiously discriminatory. To discriminate against someone for not being Jewish would be just as wrong.”
Former Dodger All-Star Shawn Green, who called SB-5465 “insulting” and said that Senator Wiener’s arguments for the legislation were “tantamount to emotional manipulation”
Houston Astros 2nd Baseman Alex Bregman, who called SB-5465 “a bad idea”
Former Dodgers star Sandy Koufax, who called SB-5465 “disturbing”.
Former Olympic swimming champion Mark Spitz, who called SB-5465 “stupid”.
San Jose Shark’s goalie Luke Kunin, who called SB-5465 “really stupid”
Green Bay Packers Starting Runningback A.J. Dillon, who rhetorically asked “who the hell are y’all electing in California?”
Undaunted, Senator Wiener has responded to these critiques by labeling these Jewish professional athletes as “haters” and “self-hating Jews”. He called their comments “traumatic”, “triggering”, and a “denial of [my] truth” about California’s role in perpetrating the Holocaust. He further added that “these individuals are simply denying the existence and very real impacts of anti-Semitism by opposing the common sense solution of SB-5465.”
At a legislative committee hearing for SB-5465, Assemblyman Lee echoed these sentiments, responding to opponents of the bill by indignantly asking “oh, so you’re opposed to Jews playing professional sports?”
I want to be clear in my opposition to SB-5465. I find it to be discriminatory, reductive, insulting, disrespectful to professional athletes, and altogether pointless. Contrary to the suggestion of Assemblyman Lee, I don’t oppose Jews playing in professional sports. I happen to respect the extreme discipline and work ethic that current professional Jewish athletes had in order to make it to the pros.
Further, although I denounce anyone who denies the Holocaust or any of the other atrocities committed against Jews, including the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, opposing SB-5465 is not the denial of those atrocities. And Senator Wiener is wrong to invoke these atrocities to generate political support.
Frankly, I find it to be theater of the absurd to claim that how many Jews play at a PGA tournament or how many Jews are on the Dodgers’ roster has anything to do with recognizing the Holocaust. Nor do I understand how it combats anti-Semitism or builds support for Israel. If anything, SB-5465 seems to reinforce negative stereotypes and biases about Jews and may potentially increase anti-Semitism.
Finally, SB-5465 would be patently unconstitutional (not that something like that matters to the California State Legislature). While combatting anti-Semitism is important, laws need to adhere to the Constitution’s restraints, not attempt to defy the Constitution and hope that no one brings a lawsuit.
Now, I could explain, as I normally would, why SB-5465 violates (1) the First Amendment,3 (2) the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause,4 (3) Article I, Section 4 of the California Constitution,5 (4) Article I, Section 7 of the California Constitution,6 (5) Article I, Section 8 of the California Constitution,7 (6) Article I, Section 31 of the California Constitution,8 (7) the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution,9 and (8) Title VII of the 1964 Rights Act.10
However, on this lovely spring April 1, 2024 evening, I just can’t. I’m very sorry but I don’t owe you (or Senator Wiener) my emotional labor. And that is my truth. Full stop.
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As you search for SB-5465 on the official California Legislative Website, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy April 1, 2024.