I have always believed that the criminal George Steinbrenner should not have been allowed to buy a ticket to a major league baseball game, let alone own the flagship team of the American Pastime. He was a man who was convicted twice of serious crimes, who consorted with mobsters to destroy a Hall of Fame baseball player, who made illegal, corporate contributions to the Nixon reelection campaign, and who brought the worst of greedy corporate culture to baseball. His life and legacy in sports has been toxic. He really was the Donald John Trump of baseball.
So it should be no surprise that Donald Trump and George Steinbrenner were close friends.
But what might be a surprise is that Steinbrenner’s name has come up in relation to the massive Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. He was vice chairman of he US Olympic Committee, and he led the Steinbrenner Commission in reducing the number of US Olympic committees from about 30 to 13. This had the effect of making it more difficult for athletes to have a say in the management of teams, or to launch formal complaints. Steinbrenner helped transform the USOC into a medal minting machine. However an unintended consequence was that he made it easier for a Nassar to get away with what he did for years.