NFL Hires Lobbyist, Sets Up D.C. Office

From The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON Politics has always been a contact sport, and the NFL is suiting up for the game.

Worried about unwelcome attention from Congress, the NFL has established a Washington office in the last year, hired a full-time lobbyist and created a political action committee to make federal campaign donations. The league is concerned that if a work stoppage affects the 2011 season it will draw unwanted interest from lawmakers.

The NFL also is facing more immediate controversies from how games are broadcast to whether a ban on Internet gambling on games should be continued.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, the son of a former New York Republican congressman and senator, orchestrated the Washington blitz after talking with owners on the leagues legislative committee three years ago. That committee was making a presentation to the owners Tuesday at the NFLs annual meeting in California.

I agreed with those who told me that during these changing times in Washington, the league should have full-time representation there like so many other business and entertainment organizations that have issues on the Hill, Goodell told The Associated Press in a statement.

Coincidentally or not, the NFL players union last week chose Washington lawyer DeMaurice Smith as its new executive director, replacing the late Gene Upshaw, who had predicted a lockout. Smith served on the Obama transition team and previously worked for Eric Holder, who is the nations attorney general.