11. Ohio members of Congress introduced legislation Thursday designed to keep the Browns in Cleveland and to make other sports franchise moves less likely. 12. Part of the solution to the problem would be to have Congress grant the NFL an antitrust exemption that would reduce the likelihood of franchise moves. 13. Since Al Davis successfully challenged the NFL by moving the Raiders to Los Angeles, the league has been powerless to prevent franchise moves. 14. Stripped of the power to block teams from moving to new cities, the NFL stood silent during a dizzying series of franchise moves. 15. Tagliabue Tuesday asked Congress to give the NFL power to block franchise moves. 16. The league never has successfully blocked a franchise move, but Wilson says it might be time to start. 17. Three-fourths of the owners must approve any franchise move. 18. Until now the possibility of such a bitter betrayal has seldom been part of a sports franchise move. 19. Yes, franchise moves threaten the stability of this league, and so does the movement of players. 20. But the only consensus on franchise moves was that something had to be done about them. |