The Right State

At what point does free football tickets become influence?  According to the Dallas Morning News Texas State lawmakers have been receiving free football tickets for some time, but its not influence.

Tickets to University of Texas football games may be out of reach for some fans, but state and federal lawmakers have routinely taken the opportunity to attend games at no cost, according to a newspaper report.

The UT System gave the elected officials 1,962 free or discounted tickets to UT football games during the past five seasons, according to records obtained by the Austin American-Statesman under the Texas Public Information Act.

But don’t think it influences the decisions of lawmakers because it doesn’t.  Well, at least that is what one legislator said.

“That’s certainly up to the university. That’s not up to me. I’m a recipient, and I’m happy to be one,” said state Sen. Florence Shapiro, who received 51 free or discounted tickets. Shapiro, R-Plano, heads the Senate Education Committee. She said she often discusses higher education matters with fellow lawmakers and university officials while attending games.

Yeah, right!  As an avid sports fan, I can say I have not once discussed anything important at a football game.  But the important question is, will receiving free football tickets influence a lawmaker?  The easy answer is, yes, it will.  It is idiotic to think it won’t influence their decisions.  The practice of giving free football tickets to state lawmakers should be ended.  The legislators are being manipulated and they do not even know it.  They are pathic.

Tags: Texas, Sports, Politics //