Negative PR and sports labour unrest...not limited to North America

It's interesting to note that unchecked greed is not something isolated to North American professional sports.

While the National Football League (the billionaires) and the players (the millionaires) fight not just a labour, but a public relations battle (hears and minds), everything is not rosy in Spanish futbol.

The Spanish government recently decided that one La Liga game per matchday must be shown on free television. This is the equivalent of the Canadian government mandating that Hockey Night in Canada must exist or the American government saying that CBS has a legal right to air Sunday afternoon football.

The concept of sports on non-pay channels in North America is pretty-well accepted. Not so in Spain, apparently. La Liga and its member teams have taken the Spanish government to court over the decision, claiming it will effect their revenue streams. If the decision is changed, the league will collectively go on strike.

This can't be good pr for a league that pays some of the highest salaries in soccer and has some of the largest revenue-grossing teams.