A confidant of three commissioners, he played a major role in negotiations with the players’ union and in league expansion in 1976 to Seattle and Tampa. The article concludes: “These findings support the hypothesis that individual workload and playing style can place additional strain on a player’s body. By throwing fans and writers in Twitter jail, sports leagues are abusing the law | Sport | The Guardian. An eagle-eyed TV viewer called in to complain that Thompson had placed her golf ball, after marking it, about half a centimetre from its original place on the 17th green.