<p>Some radio DJs were talking about this subject this morning. The African American DJ (Big Al Mack) agreed that the subject (how to fill the arena/get more season ticket holders) was legit, but thought the wording was racist, but could’t figure out a way to rephrase so that it wasn’t offensive. </p>
<p>I think that most of us would be offended if we were privy to many conversations about marketing and advertising to reach our particular demographic, or any particular demographic. </p>
<p>But it’s race that really causes the most discomfort. If the issue had been how to attract an older crowd to the games, many of the same things might have been said - the under 25 crowd doesn’t have money to buy season tickets, the under 25 crowd doesn’t have money to buy merchandise, the under 25 crowd scares away the over 50 set…that doesn’t seem all that offensive…but substitute “black” for “under 25” and “white” for “over 50” and it does sound racist.</p>
<p>The ESPN people this am noted that Atlanta has a very large black middle and upper class population so no issues of not enough mature people with money. The agreed that the product is just bad and people have better things to spend that money on.</p>
<p>I would not be surprised if the guy really just wanted to sell the team and is using this as an excuse. If he wanted to sell the team because revenues were bad and that became known, it might adversely affect the price. If he gives the appearance of selling for reasons other than revenue, he might get a better price the way Sterling suckered Ballmer into way over paying for the LA team. Ballmer was an idiot when he ran Microsoft and he is just as dumb overpaying for his new team.</p>
<p>Having emails detailing what you think is financially lacking in your team’s product and marketplace doesn’t seem like a strategy that would pump up the price.</p>
<p>No one buys the team without looking at the financials and tax returns. If Ballmer overpaid, it wasn’t because he was in the dark. </p>
<p>No but I think that there will be someone who comes in to save the team from any further discrimination. There might even be a bidding war. Remember Ballmer wasn’t the only one who was interest in buying the LA team. </p>
<p>Not knowing their partnership agreements, perhaps there are clauses to prevent Levenson to sell at this time. Nevertheless, maybe a “forced sale” is more beneficial to him.</p>
<p>Atlanta reporters have shed more light on these events. Reportedly the Levenson group of owners is thought by locals to be the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. They say that Levenson has no allies in Atlanta (he’s a DC guy).</p>
<p>What is also really interesting to me is that the email was disclosed in connection with comments “quoted” by the team president about free agent player Luol Deng. I read the Deng-related comment and really don’t find it offensive, if the commenter was trying to describe some talent or basketball skill shortcomings that some African players (Deng is a Briton born in Sudan) suffer from. I don’t see that such criticism is racial. Before Europeans became prevalent in the NBA, experts said they were too soft for the American game, or that they were just shooters and didn’t have command of the fundamentals of basketball. Even Manute Bol faced plenty of skeptics before he proved he could be quite successful in the NBA.</p>
<p>The NBA in Atlanta is just a mess. Which is why this is more and more looking like Levenson searching for an excuse to cash out.</p>
<p>I don’t think the guy sounds like a racist–quite the reverse–and I think he is looking for a way to cash out that isn’t solely because is an innately bad investment.</p>
<p>BTW, I think he was alluding to the availability of a population of financially-comfortable black people in the Atlanta area when he pointed out that even in DC, with lots of affluent black men, they aren’t buying the season tickets. (One wonders whether someone at some point asked themselves why <em>aren’t</em> affluent blacks buying season tickets, and how can we appeal to them…)</p>