POWER PLAY: JUST BECAUSE IT'S WRONG DOESN'T MAKE IT A RIGHT

Whenever life doesn't quite work out the way some people think it should, there is a tendency toward fire and brimstone tirades and claims that sacred rights have been violated.

Attention shoppers: Frequently life throws things your way that may not seem or even be fair and that may even be the result of uncaring or unethical -- though not necessarily illegal -- actions by individuals or society in general. However, that does not mean rights have been violated.

Tuesday, Congressional hearings were held concerning the rash of franchise movements in the National Football League. One Cleveland Browns fan, lamenting that his team is headed for Baltimore, made an emotional appeal to lawmakers for immediate federal action to clamp down on greedy owners who try to relocate their teams.

"Fans need rights to protect themselves from men who park on runways in Lear jets waiting for secret knocks to sign secret deals to take away our children's opportunity to have investments in the Cleveland Browns or any other NFL team," the fan said.

It's not as if NFL owners want to bulldoze churches and build strip joints in their place or replace elected government officials with daytime television personalities. Extremely large men slamming into each other like crazed, drunken goats may be fun entertainment, but it's not actually sacred to the American way of life.

(Sidenote: I am extremely tired of hearing people claim how horrible something will be on kids. The goal is to attempt to make the perpetrators of the alleged action look like jerks for "hurting" kids when actually they just want to protect their own interests. Very cheap ploy.)

I've been over the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the rest of the amendments several times. Quite a few rights are enumerated: freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, protection against self-incrimination and warrantless searches, the right to trial by jury, and the right to more skin on HBO. (Well, not really, but it isn't a bad idea.)

Nowhere do I see a section outlining the right to enjoy professional sports -- not even baseball, the former national pasttime. Do you know why? BECAUSE IT AIN'T THERE!!!

Now sports fans may try to counter with arguments based on the Ninth Amendment, which states that citizens possess other natural rights which, although not specifically listed in the Constitution, are still protected against government infringement.

However, one would be extremely hard-pressed to convincingly argue that the right to enjoy the NFL or other professional sports leagues was part of the Founding Fathers' original intent.

Although NFL owners who have moved or are attempting to do so may not have done anything illegal, that doesn't mean they haven't done anything wrong.

The Rams and Raiders started the latest round of franchise shifts last year, but both teams were losing money and enjoyed little fan support giving them legitimate reasons to flee. Similarly, in the National Hockey League, the Quebec Nordiques bolted to Denver and the Winnipeg Jets are headed to Phoenix because they could no longer make a go of it in small-market cities.

However, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell and others of his ilk heartlessly dump thriving markets and supportive fan bases to reap the blackmail payoffs being offered by cities who for some completely unfathomable reason are desperate to land a team and will prostitute themselves in every way necessary.

But while greed may be distasteful to those trampled under foot, when people own things they can pretty much do what they want with them.

Many groups, not just jilted football fans, need to accept the fact that just because they desire something, it isn't a God-given right.

Marc Powers is a member of the Southeast Missourian news staff.