Hawks owner to sell team because of "racist" email

[mgent]

As others have said... I'm not sure it's racist.  I mean... Think about this...  I live in Seattle.  There is a massive population of Asian folks out here.  There's a reason why the Seattle Mariners spent money on Iwakuma shortly after Ichiro went to the Yankees.  As someone who attends a lot of games, it's hard not to notice the difference in fanbase when iwakuma is pitching.

Yeah, if you're making a decision that's based on making more money, then the decision is obviously not being based on race.  It's called conducting business, and by definition can't be racist.

[Jailan34]

While some things he says are a little iffy I don't think he'd care who is buying his season tickets as long as they were buying. If 95% of his season ticket holders were black I imagine he would be fine with things the way it was. Sometimes in business you have to make broad sweeping generalizations based on the statistics and ignore the individual because you're trying to make money not be politically correct.

[Ogaju]

All the posts in support of Levenson miss the larger point, context context context. It is not what you think, or what I think. It is what the larger black civil rights conscious movement thinks. That is what this is all about.

Donald Sterling's words would have meant nothing if Magic Johnson did not self-boycott and trigger a massive revolt by the black players. This is not about white fans, black fans, or Asian fans for that matter. It was about the black players saying DTS must go, and go he did. Remember DTS had numerous allegations of racism against him but that did not stop black players, coaches, and executives from working with him. Mark Cuban warned you all about this.
Its not abut what you say or do, the civil rights community with the help of the players can now sanction you with the power derived from the ouster of DTS.

[bdm860]

Talking about the cheerleaders, one thing I've always felt is that the Celtics had one of the whitest cheerleading/dance squads in the league, and this is from my personal experience of visiting probably a dozen or so basketball arenas over the last several years.  I thought the Celtics had by far the whitest of every team I've seen.  Any one whose visited a few different arenas notice this?

As for the Hawks, check this out.  Levenson's email was from 8/25/12 so before the start of the 2013 season, well here's some pictures of the Hawk's cheerleaders in different years

2011-2012 Cheerleaders:


2012-2013 Cheerleaders (I would guess the 2013 team was already set before his email).


Those teams look predominantly white to me.  Now if those teams were "too black" for him, maybe he comes off more racist then he first appeared.

[SHAQATTACK]

I think it's an excuse to sell the sucky ol team he owns ...get out while d gettin good.

[Ogaju]

I just read the email, and I cannot imagine how people do not see this as racist.

The arena is too black?

Blacks do not have spendable income?

Blacks do not cheer loud enough?

Latest arriving crowd -- feeds into the 'blacks are never on time stereotype'.

Very few fathers and sons at the game -- another stab at the blacks.

Cheerleaders are too black?

Blacks reduced to 40% of attendance from 70% but still too black because it is four times the league average for blacks. So lets get more white.

Yeah, that is not racists at all.

DTS in a jealous rage tells his gf not to bring magic Johnson or her black bf to his games, that is considered racist BUT Levenson making general statements about blacks, their spending habits, punctuality, and familial relationships is not racist?

[D.o.s.]

Talking about the cheerleaders, one thing I've always felt is that the Celtics had one of the whitest cheerleading/dance squads in the league, and this is from my personal experience of visiting probably a dozen or so basketball arenas over the last several years.  I thought the Celtics had by far the whitest of every team I've seen.  Any one whose visited a few different arenas notice this?

As far as the Celtics are concerned, why do you think everyone kept saying that Kevin Love would be huge in Boston?

[LarBrd33]

Has there ever been any whispers of the Hawks moving?  Have they struggled in general to fill the arena?  Someone in this thread joked that Balmer should have waited and bought this team to move to Seattle... but is that at all possible?  I haven't followed Atlanta's situation.  Do they have a strong arena lease preventing a move or anything like that?

[Birdman]

Think he is hoping to get 2 billion bucks is why he did this

[Waew]

Has there ever been any whispers of the Hawks moving?  Have they struggled in general to fill the arena?  Someone in this thread joked that Balmer should have waited and bought this team to move to Seattle... but is that at all possible?  I haven't followed Atlanta's situation.  Do they have a strong arena lease preventing a move or anything like that?

http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance

Hawks were 3rd worst team in attendance. 76%. in comparison, celtics get 97%. IDK what the lease agreement they have looks like though.

[Ogaju]

Talking about the cheerleaders, one thing I've always felt is that the Celtics had one of the whitest cheerleading/dance squads in the league, and this is from my personal experience of visiting probably a dozen or so basketball arenas over the last several years.  I thought the Celtics had by far the whitest of every team I've seen.  Any one whose visited a few different arenas notice this?

As far as the Celtics are concerned, why do you think everyone kept saying that Kevin Love would be huge in Boston?

Because he is white? Nooooooooooooooo.

[Ogaju]

Talking about the cheerleaders, one thing I've always felt is that the Celtics had one of the whitest cheerleading/dance squads in the league, and this is from my personal experience of visiting probably a dozen or so basketball arenas over the last several years.  I thought the Celtics had by far the whitest of every team I've seen.  Any one whose visited a few different arenas notice this?

As for the Hawks, check this out.  Levenson's email was from 8/25/12 so before the start of the 2013 season, well here's some pictures of the Hawk's cheerleaders in different years

2011-2012 Cheerleaders:


2012-2013 Cheerleaders (I would guess the 2013 team was already set before his email).


Those teams look predominantly white to me.  Now if those teams were "too black" for him, maybe he comes off more racist then he first appeared.

This!!

[Mencius]

-  it’s 70 pct black

— the cheerleaders are black

— the music is hip hop

— at the bars it’s 90 pct black

— there are few fathers and sons at the games

— we are doing after game concerts to attract more fans and the concerts are either hip hop or gospel.

Those stats present a picture of a game experience that is not as diverse or inclusive as they might, not to mention they are not extracting as much money as they might. 

Let's face it.  These guys are about the bottom line (almost all businesses are).  Their business strategies are about extracting the most money that they can from a fan base, and demographic wherewithal and sensibilities are part of the calculus, among others.

Many stores won't even open businesses, or will relocate if an area gains the perception that risks outpace rewards.  I think smart businessmen are quite aware of relevant statistics when it comes to what business practices and decisions are going to be most advantageous and proceed accordingly.  Some decisions based on statistics may be racist.  It doesn't make the statistics wrong, or the owners of the business wrong for doing what is in their own financial best interests, any more than insurance underwriters would be wrong for seemingly discriminatory practices (like charging more for male teenage drivers than other demographics.)

Risk / reward decisions should be standard practice when running a business. 

This guy's groveling is not going to win him any plaudits anyway.  He's still going to get branded with a scarlet "R".  He should have just sold his interests if that's what he wanted to do.

[hwangjini_1]

As others have said... I'm not sure it's racist.  I mean... Think about this...  I live in Seattle.  There is a massive population of Asian folks out here.  There's a reason why the Seattle Mariners spent money on Iwakuma shortly after Ichiro went to the Yankees.  As someone who attends a lot of games, it's hard not to notice the difference in fanbase when iwakuma is pitching.

Yeah, if you're making a decision that's based on making more money, then the decision is obviously not being based on race.  It's called conducting business, and by definition can't be racist.

as stated, i, and many others, disagree. as one painfully obvious example we need only look at the business of selling slaves in the USA long ago. yes, one can be engaged in business and involved in racist behavior at the same time.

[footey]

I don't understand how the ATL owner would do this so he could sell the team. He has the right to sell the team whenever he wants.  Generally, an owner being forced to sell hurts the value (buyers smell blood), it does not enhance it.  The Sterling sale was an anomaly, due to the desirability of the LA market and the quality level of the team and coaching staff.   Oh, and the fact that a multi-billionaire decided that he wanted to buy that particular team, and could afford to blow competitive bids out of the water.