I have been blessed to have been surrounded by three women over my lifetime who have reminded me of the dangers of becoming a member of the “good-ole-boys”, the informal network of men who use their positions of power to take advantage of women, minorities and the less fortunate. Whenever, I started to stray, I was given a “course correction” and a “rerouting” in no uncertain terms. It hasn’t always been easy, but I am fortunate to have had these “guardian angels” in my life to keep me on the “straight and narrow”.
Based on recent reports, it seems many of the NFL owners are the “poster child” for the “good-old-boys” network. Recent events, such as, the abrupt firing of Las Vegas head coach Jon Gruden, for the unsavory racist and misogynist comments he made: the reality that there is only one black head coach out of 32 teams, of which over 60% of the players are minorities; the $10 million fine of the Washington Redskins organization for fostering a “highly unprofessional,” work environment, especially for women; and now there is this.
N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in his annual news conference on Wednesday that the league would investigate Washington Commanders owners Dan Snyder, with an “outside expert.” The announcement of the investigation is a result of allegations made by former employees in a Congressional round table held last week. Team employees read statements about the team’s “toxic workplace” that mentioned incidents dating back as far as 15 years. In the two-week lead-up to the Super Bowl, the NFL continues to shoot itself in the foot. The “good-ole boys” network is alive and well in the NFL
Sometimes, the “good-ole-boys” do their damage by pedaling BS. Take this example by Chris McCosky that appeared in the Detroit News today.
The minute the words came out of his mouth, even he had to know they were going to come back to bite him. Toward the end of a 30-minute press briefing in a resort hotel outside of Disney World Thursday, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was asked if owning a big-league baseball team was a good investment? Manfred replied: “We actually hired an investment banker, a really good one, actually, to look at that very issue. If you look at a purchase price of franchises, the cash that’s put in during the period of ownership, and then what they sold for, historically, the return on those investments is below what you get in the stock market, with a lot more risks.” Hoo-boy. It was only a matter of time before the economists had a field day with that.
Forbes senior contributor Maury Brown promptly posted three examples disproving Manfred’s investment banker’s findings.
Frank McCourt bought the Los Angeles Dodgers for roughly $430 million in 2004 and sold it for $2.3 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a $1.73 billion profit. Had McCourt invested the $430 million in Standard and Poor’s, it’s adjusted value would’ve been $1.334 billion in 2018.
Jeffrey Loria bought the Miami Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002 and sold it for $1.2 billion in 2017 – an adjusted profit of $952.3 million. Had he put his money in S&P, it would have been worth $530.56 million in 2017.
David Glass bought the Kansas City Royals for $96 million in 2000 and solid it for $1 billion in 2019 – an adjusted profit of $834.26 million. Had he invested in S&P in 2000, it would have grown to $321.64 million by 2019.
Back in 1992, Mike Ilitch bought the Tigers for $82 million. According to Forbes, the franchise was valued at $1.26 billion in 2021.
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich pointed out that PitchBook Data reported that all four major U.S. sports leagues have outperformed S&P, with baseball franchises’ return on investment hitting 669% over S&P.
Congress, another bastion of “good-ole-boys”, has taken a major step to address some issues of the “good-old-boys”. Yesterday Congress approved bipartisan legislation on Thursday barring the use of forced arbitration to address sexual assault and harassment claims in the workplace. It is aimed at ending a secretive practice often used to shield perpetrators from full and public accountability. It could prompt a sea change in the way that businesses handle allegations of sexual abuse, and it was hailed by employment lawyers as one of the most significant changes to labor law in decades. The White House has indicated President Biden will sign it. This is a game changer against the “good-ole-boys”.
No one saw this coming. The University of Michigan’s men’s basketball team finally got a “signature” win with its surprising 82-58 victory over number three ranked Purdue. The victory comes six days after Purdue defeated Michigan last Saturday in West Lafayette. For the first time since U of M defeated Indiana at Bloomington by 18, the team played hard and with poise on both ends of the court. They took advantage of Purdue’s 7’4” center, Zach Edey, getting into early foul trouble and only playing 5 minutes in the first half. The were able to keep future NBA guard, Jaden Ivey, from breaking down the defense with his dribble-drive penetration. More importantly Michigan shot “lights out” from deep, as Michigan’s starting five were 12 of 17 for 71% on three-point shots. David Brooks was 4 of 4 while Hunter Dickinson and Caleb Houston were both 4 of 6. There is no rest for the wicked as they take on 16th ranked Ohio State on Saturday. It is crunch time as U of M fights for a NCAA tournament bid. The win over Purdue will mean very little for their tournament chances, if they lose to OSU on Saturday.
What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Orchid of the Day: Shaun White, the three-time gold-medal winner who introduced the U.S to the joys and fun of snowboarding, finished fourth in fifth and final Winter Olympics. He now moves on to the next phase of his life, which is building his already successful line of snowboarding products.
Onion of the Day: Florida Republican senator, Marco Rubio for releasing a video saying “Biden is sending free meth & crack pipes to minority communities in the name of ‘racial equity’…there is no end in sight of this lunacy”
Quotes of the Day: “Pence betrayed Trump. Marc Short is a Koch Network dog. Meadows is a fool and a coward. Cheney and Kinzinger are useful idiots for Nancy Pelosi and the woke Left.”, former White House trade advisor for President Trump, Peter Navarro, after receiving a subpoena from the house select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Video/Song of the Day: “Good Ole Boys”