For the Greater Good

I find the phrase, "For the Greater Good" slightly appropriate. Not because it's explored in the final Harry Potter book that is now being released in the theaters, but it can really apply to the state of professional sports and their relation to their cities. Whom does a sports team belong to, and who benefits the most from having a franchise? The cut and dry answer is a team's owners. It certainly seems that way in the NBA. I can wax poetic all I want about the injustice of the Sonics leaving town, but that has been done and done better by others. But look at the playoffs that just started this past weekend. The first ever win for the Grizzlies franchise that barely had a chance to find success in Vancouver before being ripped away to Memphis. The former Sonics in the Sooner State were able to stave off a very game Denver Nuggets squad. And of course, people may not remember that the Lakers did not start in L.A. And now there's talk that the greater Los Angeles area will get yet another team. Are the Kings headed to Anaheim to become the Royals?

So that begs the questions, who do sports teams belong to? For David Stern and the NBA, the answer seems to be merely, "Us." The NBA and the owners are the sole benefactor of the teams and they just hope that fans like their product enough to buy it. It's almost like a movie. You can go see it, or not see it. Yet, I remember when Howard Schultz took ownership of the team in Seattle, he talked about a "public trust." The Sonics were not his team. They were our team.

I am a journalism student at Central Washington and was reading a book called The Elements of Journalism. In it there's a quote from Eugene Meyer who purchased the Washington Post in 1933. "In pursuit of the truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good." I couldn't help but hear Howard Schultz in my head when I read that quote. He talked about how the Sonics were for the people. Profit was of secondary concern. And then, in a short period of time, he was unhappy that due to a terrible NBA model, he was losing millions of dollars.

I don't blame him for being unhappy to lose money. I do think, however, that his lack of integrity has really damaged what was a really smart man. He very clearly didn't believe the Sonics were a public trust. And I certainly understand his reluctance to talk now about the deal because either he admits he lied or that he was swindled. How does he win there?

So I guess I just think that people who go into sports ownership need to be very clear in their heads about one thing. Who owns this team? Because if the answer the owners and the league, then I care a whole lot less about sports. If you are not reporting to me in some way, then why should I care? If the league truly believes the fans are the backbone of their success, then they need to make it extremely difficult, nearly impossible for franchise movement. Because that only hurts whom they claim to be most important. If the "good" you're after is profit, then perhaps our expectations should change as well.