Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Staff ReportsJuly 3, 2018

It’s almost Independence Day, which in Florida means: Time to scare some birds. Although you can buy fireworks in the state, they’re not actually legal here. Indeed, The Tampa Tribune in 2014 called fireworks sales in Florida an “institutionalized charade,” leading one lawmaker to call for “more freedom (and) less fraud.” Retail sales are allowed only […]

Ryan NicolMay 23, 2018

Call it “I’m rubber, you’re glue” media criticism. Florida Atlantic University is hitting back at Palm Beach Post reporter Kenny Jacoby for what the university calls “inaccurate and misleading” coverage of the school’s own erroneous reporting of its number of female athletes. That’s after the Post caught FAU filing a false report with the Department of Education. Here’s the […]

Associated PressApril 19, 2017

Richard Rodrigue stood in the back of a banquet hall, watching his blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter mingle among her high school classmates. These teenagers speak dozens of languages, and hail from a dozen African nations. They fled brutal civil war, famine, oppressive regimes to find themselves here, at an ordinary high school pre-prom fete in this […]

Associated PressOctober 10, 2016

Donald-Trump-2nd-debate-10.10-Large-e1476074304803.jpg

CJ McCollum, Jamal Crawford and Jacob Tamme are among current and former professional athletes on social media to criticize Donald Trump‘s characterization of his predatory, sexual comments about women from a 2005 video as “locker room talk.” Trump’s campaign described his remarks as “locker room banter” in a statement Saturday, and the Republican presidential nominee […]

Associated PressSeptember 6, 2016

Donald Trump spoke to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi before his charity cut a 2013 check to support her re-election effort, but his campaign said Tuesday the two never discussed whether her office would join a lawsuit against Trump University. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks clarified details of the conversation one day after the Republican presidential […]

Jac VerSteegFebruary 2, 2016

Florida public schools have arts magnets, science magnets, language arts magnets, foreign language magnets, and on and on. Why not have sports magnets as well? The Florida Legislature is considering bills to greatly expand “choice” for student-athletes and, incidentally, students who participate in other extracurricular activities. Examples are SB 684 and HB 7039. Changes to […]

Associated PressNovember 3, 2015

Several of Florida’s professional sports teams are trying again to win state money from the Florida Legislature. State officials said Monday that they had received requests to spend money on the stadiums used by the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The state has also received a funding request from Daytona […]

Guest AuthorMay 13, 2015

One hundred years ago this month, Babe Ruth strode to the plate and cracked his first major league home run. Twenty years later he would hit No. 714, a milestone that would stand for generations. Over the course of two decades, George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. transformed America’s national pastime from a game of speed into […]

Guest AuthorMay 5, 2015

The 2015 Major League Baseball Racial and Gender Report Card recently released by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport shows the league had an A on the issue of racial hiring practices, a C/C+ for gender hiring practices and an overall grade of B. Are we playing fair when it comes to sports? Does […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 25, 2015

I teach a class in the DeVos Sport Business Management graduate program at the University of Central Florida on ethical and moral principles in sport. Last week we welcomed a distinguished panel to our class, which included: Charlie Freeman, executive vice president of the Orlando Magic; Linda Landman-Gonzalez, vice president for government affairs and community […]

Tag: sports
Debate party at Sports Grill Kendall. Image via AP.

Florida’s bizarre fireworks law still in place

FAU tries to even score with Palm Beach Post after critical story

How communities shaped by refugees became Donald Trump country

Athletes take issue with Donald Trump over “locker room talk”

Donald Trump seeks distance from donation supporting Pam Bondi

Jac VerSteeg: Time for sports magnet schools?

Florida pro sports teams make another push for state money

Richard Crepeau: The clout of Babe Ruth's first homer still felt 100 years later

Richard Lapchick: Does Major League Baseball look like America?

Richard Lapchick: Power of sport expanding to spur more social change