Legal Commentary

Are Fox Sports Announcers Dignitaries?

By TChris

Is Troy Aikman a "dignitary" in need of protection? A U.S. Marshal claims government resources were not misused when Aikman, Joe Buck, and Joseph Band, a lawyer for the Marshals Service who happened to be a part-time statistician for Fox Sports, were driven to the 2008 Super Bowl by a deputy marshal.

Investigators found that in at least three cities (Boston; Tampa, Fla.; and Phoenix), United States Marshals granted Band’s request for vehicles and drivers, even though it should have been clear that he was not at the games on official business, the [Inspector General's] report said.

Band arranged for Marshals Service escorts to an NFL playoff game and to a couple of World Series games. Instead of coming clean and admitting that Band misused governmental resources for his own purposes, and that the marshals who signed off on his requests made mistakes, the marshal for Arizona claimed transporting Aikman and Buck "could be considered 'dignitary protection.'" Aikman was a fine quarterback and Buck is a stellar announcer, but dignitaries they are not. As excuses for poor judgment go, this one is awfully lame.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 13, 2009 (boomark / email).