June Round Up!
I don’t really have anything interesting to say at this moment about the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision—obviously this is a terrible outcome whose tragic consequences are already being felt. How this will play out—socially, culturally, politically, etc.—is not clear to me, and I’m skeptical of anyone claiming to know. But I am confident saying at least this much:
For the love of God, do not trust Dick’s Sporting Goods.
In case you missed it, Dick’s became one of the first companies to announce that it would reimburse travel expenses for employees who need to seek an abortion out of state. This has quickly become an easy way for corporations to establish their progressive bona fides, ensuring some nice publicity and good bonhomie among potential customers and employees. But you obviously cannot trust these declarations.
I don’t mean to be overly cynical here—some of these company executives are probably speaking out of genuine sympathy for their employees in red states. But the executive class cannot change its nature, and its nature is to drive down labor costs by refusing to honor claims it should. As anyone who has tried to claim “unlimited PTO,” or get promptly reimbursed for an expense, or get paid on time as a freelancer knows, the words of an employer do not always match their actions. And that is especially true for impromptu announcement like these, which are not binding in any way and can be retracted as easily as they are made.
Unions, which could actually make commitments like this binding by including them in a contract, are of course strenuously opposed by the same executives expressing their support for their employees right now. This is part of what makes abortion a labor issue. Of course, it’s way more than that, but don’t be fooled by Dick’s.
Anyway, here’s everything from Undrafted this month:
PODCASTS
Lots of podcast episodes this month!
James convinced me to root for the Celtics as a mean trick to get me to root against Stephen Curry…
Our second movie review! This one delves into Baby Boomer nostalgia and the politics of how we remember the 1960s…
A baseball check-in that turned into a larger discussion of the role of managers in baseball—and, by extension, the role of bosses in general. A pretty good one, imo!
Is golf canceled? We discuss….
A discussion of the Rays’ Pride Night debacle turned into a larger discussion of Pride in sports, including an interview with Frankie de la Cretaz. Another banger, I think!
WRITING
Steve Kerr’s comments on gun control, while very sympathetic, represented the failures of liberalism.
Protests that target the flag sound good in theory, but often confuse the issue more than they illuminate it. With the 4th of July coming up, this might be relevant again…
On the weird career arc of Andrew Wiggins, and what it means for workers everywhere.
A quick post on how the minor leagues mirror the nation’s student debt crisis.