San Francisco Ordinance Will Ban Players from Chewing Tobacco at AT&T Park

Last week, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee signed an ordinance that would ban everybody — including players — from using smokeless tobacco at all of the city’s sports venues. As baseball is really the only sport where this is an issue, this will have the most profound effect on the Giants and their opponents at AT&T Park.

The prohibition, which goes into effect at the beginning of next year, seems like it could be something of a trojan horse. The MLB players association had no comment on this ordinance, but has previously balked at banning smokeless tobacco use during games. Granting that it’s a difficult habit to break, it really does seem like an antiquated practice every time you see a player with a massive wad in his cheeks — which is often.

There was a prominent outcry to ban smokeless tobacco in baseball when Tony Gwynn passed last year, and Curt Schilling has asserted that it caused his own cancer, but that doesn’t appear to have abated its use in MLB.

[Photo via Getty]