Proposed new FTC regulations pose threat to sports associations

The APTA’s freedom to set standards for platform tennis equipment could have been in trouble as a result of a regulation, proposed by the Federal Trade Commission, that would have affected all sports associations in the country. The FTC argued that having sports associations set standards was a violation of the anti-trust laws. The Chamber of Commerce discussed the issue in their Washington Report (“Does Arnold Palmer Need Golf Lessons from the FTC”)

The U.S. Golf Association objected strenuously, even on national TV, with Arnold Palmer as their spokesman and the APTA Board planned to join the protest. The proposal generated so much opposition that it was dropped.

Source: Platform Tennis News (October), APTA Executive Committee Minutes August 22 and 23, 1979