By Andy Serwer
"Banned for life!" screamed the headlines about Larry Summers this week. As in, Larry Summers has been banished forever from the American Economic Association, a prestigious scholarly organization dedicated to economic research.
It is the ultimate punishment this august group of dismal scientists can impose, and I guess they are well within their rights. Having said that, I do wonder whether the punishment fits the crime.
In no way is this any sort of defense of Summers. Like most people, I find his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein unfathomable, unconscionable, and unbelievably stupid. And who knows? There could be even more bad stuff or worse to come.
It's just that forever has a comically regal tone to it, like something a king in a cartoon movie might decree: "I hereby banish you from our bountiful kingdom FOREVER!" In that sense, it almost diminishes the punishment. Why not simply throw Summers out, tell him not to let the door grace his posterior on the way out, and leave it at that?
It's also kind of amusing to think about being banished from an association of economists. ( "Oh, you're killing me. Next, you'll throw me out of the Society of Calf-Liver Eaters.")
On a more serious note, banning someone for life is counterproductive because it draws more attention to the imbroglio.
The world of sports offers numerous high-profile examples. Consider Pete Rose, banished from baseball in 1989 for gambling on games, including those of his own team. Did Rose's life ban end the debate over his crime and his punishment? On the contrary, it gave the controversy new life, becoming the fodder of thousands of hours of sports talk radio. To some, it made Rose a sympathetic character.
It continues to this day, which isn't surprising. After Rose died in 2024, his ban was curiously lifted posthumously this year by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. President Donald Trump said he would pardon Rose. All of which reopened the debate over whether he should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, for which he is now eligible.
Speaking of gambling, NBA player Jontay Porter, formerly of the Toronto Raptors, was banned for life by the NBA last year. With what is going on in gambling and sports, I suspect he won't be the last.
Running influencer Matt Choi was also banned for life last year. In his case, he was banned from ever running the New York City Marathon again. Choi ran the 2024 NYC Marathon flanked by e-bikes, whose riders were filming him. Not smart. The New York Road Runners banned him forever from all of its races, including the marathon. Choi apologized in an Instagram post and said, "It will never happen again." No, it won't, Matt. Though, of course, Choi, whom I'd never heard of before this, has never been more famous -- in part I would argue because of the lifetime ban -- and is free to run any other marathons and races he wants (without the e-bikes).
As for Tonya Harding being banned for life in 1994 by the U.S. Figure Skating Association for -- at the very least -- prior knowledge of the attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan, that gets closer to the punishment fitting the crime, but even there, I wonder.
Do I believe in banishment in any case? It would have to be a pretty serious transgression. Somewhat similarly -- and without wading into the death penalty controversy -- a life sentence in prison for murder is a kind of banishment that certainly makes sense to me.
Getting back to Summers, and this could apply to those sports banishments as well, try banning him for a decade, at which point he'll be 81 years old. Then, if he wants to and if the American Economic Association agrees, he could petition to be readmitted. Then, subject to the conditions and approval of the institution, he might be readmitted.
Leaving aside that lifetime bans almost always come off as overkill, there's also the point that the finality of these expulsions means there is no room for second chances or forgiveness, rehabilitation, or learning from one's mistakes. (I know in some cases this might be the third or more chance.)
You might not think Summers or the others deserve or are capable of any of that, but how do we really know? Lifetime bans prevent us all, the accused and the public, from finding out.
Write to Andy Serwer at andy.serwer@barrons.com. Follow him on X and subscribe to his At Barron's podcast.
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December 05, 2025 14:10 ET (19:10 GMT)
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