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Worst owners in Sports


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1 hour ago, kmccarthy27 said:

I remember the manager hired some guy and he showed up Day 1 (not a game day) with a Raiders jersey on, he let the guy work, but was told by higher ups walking around the stadium that he had to be fired by lunch. 

 

Snyder did the right thing. Raiders fans shouldn't work where people can see them.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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On 10/17/2018 at 10:33 AM, tp49 said:

If we're going historically I'd throw in any owner of the New York Islanders that doesn't include Roy Boe or the current one with particular emphasis on Charles Wang, John Spano, Gluckstern and the Milstein brothers.

If you take out the fraud stuff, Spano was an ok owner, and the Islanders would likely have left greater NYC, if not for him (between the new TV deal and the NHL personally swooping in to stabilize things).

 

He is a horrible human being, but far from the worst owner the Isles have had.

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On 10/17/2018 at 9:11 PM, the admiral said:

 

 

It was the Wirtzes and a bunch of other dudes, one of whom was Steinbrenner, I believe. But Reinsdorf belongs on a list like this more than they do. I don't think the Wirtzes cared that much about the Bulls and as such more or less spared them that special Wirtz touch; like many NBA teams of the 1970s, they were there to soak up dates at the Stadium and not much else. 

 

Lamar Hunt was also one of the original owners of the Bulls, and kept his minority share of the team until he died, and from there it got passed down to his kids, along with their ownership of the Chiefs and the other holdings he had.  Steinbrenner's share (ten percent) of Da Bulls was included in Reinsdorf's majority purchase of the team--Jerry and his group only paid $9.2 million for 56.8 percent in 1985.

 

As far as the Wirtzes and their stewardship of the Bulls, I guess this could be proof of how much they thought of their basketball team...

1973-74-Misc-Bulls-Vendor-BR.jpg

 

They never even bothered taking down the rink glass from the hockey games...lol  This is circa 1973-74, but to be fair, this was during the dark years of the NBA, where except in a few cities, there were plenty of half-full to near-empty arenas nightly including in market #3.

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Dan Snyder has got to be the worst owner. To take a team that won 3 Super Bowls in the previous 20 years down the gutter (2 division titles total in the next 20 years) is inexplicable. He sucks and is a money whore.

 

Bud Adams just might be the dumbest owner in history. Surely Tennessee is a better market than Houston, right?

 

Mike Brown is the best owner in all of sports. He is simply extraordinary.

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Mike Brown. Jim Irsay. Jim Dolan. Virginia McCaskey and her sons. Jed York. Mark Davis.

 

All proof that you should probably sell your team before you die, or in Charles Dolan's case, think twice about turning over your empire to your (ex-)alcoholic, wannabe jazz musician son. 

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1 hour ago, MadmanLA said:

Mike Brown. Jim Irsay. Jim Dolan. Virginia McCaskey and her sons. Jed York. Mark Davis.

 

All proof that you should probably sell your team before you die, or in Charles Dolan's case, think twice about turning over your empire to your (ex-)alcoholic, wannabe jazz musician son. 

 

Yep. The Trust Fund Idiot Crew. 

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James Dolan. You know you're pretty bad when you insult a longtime Knick fan. Fires Marv Albert after he (rightfully so) criticized the team. Probably cares more about his crappy band than the teams he owns. Isiah Thomas is the head coach in what I thought was the lowest point in franchise history (might still be). Then he's caught in a harassment scandal they tried covering up only for Dolan years later to make him the president of the Liberty? Are you serious?

The Knicks aren't respected, they're laughed at. Basketball is the most popular sport in this city and you can't competently run a team to at least compete? No, he makes instead has a fan favorite like Charles Oakley thrown out the building on national television.

How the Rangers managed some sort of success for nearly a decade until recently is nothing but a miracle. 

 

Fred and Jeff Wilpon. This whole GM search they're doing right now is nothing but a farce. The real GM is Jeff who knows next to nothing about how to build a winning club. He's just looking for a yes man who will tell him everything he wants to hear. Everything they do is by chance, hence why the Mets are always a one-hit wonder. Fred should've sold this team as soon as the Madoff scandal happened in 2008 but for some baffling reason, they hung on and now treat the Mets like a small market ball club. Fred and Jeff do nothing but destroy any chance the Mets have in building a contender. Fred's been doing this since the 80s. 

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I enjoy reading threads like this about who is the worst owner of a sports team because I know that all the responses will miss out on some key things, most importantly:

 

1) The owners don't give a damn about the fans. I remember back when the Colts won Super Bowl XL and Irsay announced that he would be having a treasure hunt of sorts during which 5 fans would "win" Super Bowl rings. Indianapolis went ape :censored: over this. Turns out that the winning fans had to pay the taxes on the rings while Irsay got to write the whole thing off as a business expense.

 

Let me repeat that. Owners don't care about fans.

 

2) Most owners don't care about winning championships. Jerry Jones has said repeatedly that he'd have traded a Super Bowl win or all three if it meant he got into the Hall of Fame. Now, you can rightly argue that it's because the Cowboys won 3 SB's that he got elected, but the point is that he doesn't care about the SP or winning it, no matter how much garbage he barfs out on his radio show or in interviews. Owners don't care about winning championships, because to them the team is more something to show off to other people in a "I have one of these and you don't" kind of way.

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6 hours ago, insert name said:

How the Rangers managed some sort of success for nearly a decade until recently is nothing but a miracle. 

 

Dolan doesn't care about hockey, so he leaves all the day-to-day operations to Glen Sather, and if you remember his Rangers before Lockout II, you're right, it is a miracle.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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On 10/24/2018 at 10:45 PM, ShutUpLutz! said:

2) Most owners don't care about winning championships. Jerry Jones has said repeatedly that he'd have traded a Super Bowl win or all three if it meant he got into the Hall of Fame. Now, you can rightly argue that it's because the Cowboys won 3 SB's that he got elected, but the point is that he doesn't care about the SP or winning it, no matter how much garbage he barfs out on his radio show or in interviews. Owners don't care about winning championships, because to them the team is more something to show off to other people in a "I have one of these and you don't" kind of way.

 

I really, really hate to defend Jerry Jones, but I don’t think you’re right on the facts.  

 

I read that story - Jones was drinking heavily and was being interviewed by a writer working on a book.  That writer asked Jones if he’d trade his Hall of Fame jacket to get the Cowboys another Super Bowl ring, and Jones eventually said “No”.  

 

Quote

In his upcoming book Big Game, author Mark Liebovich shares a story about asking Jones if he'd give up Hall of Fame status for another Lombardi Trophy.

 

"Would Jones trade his Gold Jacket for one of [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft's rings? Jones was nowhere near as definitive as Kraft was on the Gold Jacket versus ring question. 'Oh boy,' Jones kept saying. 'Boy. Boy! Boy! Boy! Boy.' His face filled in a kind of sloppy and happy grimace, befitting this high-class dilemma. He suggested an alternative riddle. How about if I asked whether Jones would pay a quarter billion dollars for another Super Bowl ring? 'Why don't you ask me that?' Jones proposed. 'If you could assure me of that, you'd walk out of here with a check.' Nope, can't do it, I said, and repeated my question: Would he trade his Hall of Fame jacket for another ring? 'No,' Jones said finally. 'No.'"

 

He didn't say he'd trade a past Super Bowl. Certainly not trade all three.  And not repeatedly.  Once.  While drinking Scotch from "blue twenty-four-ounce plastic stadium cups bearing the Cowboys' logo, soon to be filled--and refilled--to the top."  Which is an indication that Jones is not totally above personal glory.  But while it was a dumb thing to say, it’s not the profoundly stupid thing you described.

 

And now I have to go take a shower.

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On 10/17/2018 at 11:50 AM, leopard88 said:

- Malcolm Glazer

If we're going to open it up to all of Big Four history, I'll add my comments and additions (in bold above).

 

I dont feel the Glazers are bad owners.  Malcolm was a great owner and turned the Bucs around pretty quick.  Once he passed along control to his sons is when the nosedive started.  Im not sure theyre as committed as Malcolm was, but they at least try.

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2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

I really, really hate to defend Jerry Jones, but I don’t think you’re right on the facts.  

 

I read that story - Jones was drinking heavily and was being interviewed by a writer working on a book.  That writer asked Jones if he’d trade his Hall of Fame jacket to get the Cowboys another Super Bowl ring, and after some hemming and hawing Jones finally said “No”.  

 

Not trade a past Super Bowl. Not trade all three.  And not repeatedly.  Once.  While drinking heavily.  Which is an indication that Jones is not above personal glory.  But while it was a dumb thing to say, it’s not the profoundly stupid thing you described.

 

And now I have to go take a shower.

 

Jones must not care about winning titles that much, though. He keeps Jason Garrett as HC, a guy who should have been fired years ago.

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33 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

I dont feel the Glazers are bad owners.  Malcolm was a great owner and turned the Bucs around pretty quick.  Once he passed along control to his sons is when the nosedive started.  Im not sure theyre as committed as Malcolm was, but they at least try.

 

In fairness, that's pretty common.  We see it in a lot of industries, not just football.

 

There's a saying in finance: “The first generation makes the money, the second generation spends it, and the third generation blows it.”  Applies to sports ownership as well; the kids who grow up owning the teams aren't always the best stewards of them.

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5 minutes ago, DnBronc said:

Jones must not care about winning titles that much, though. He keeps Jason Garrett as HC, a guy who should have been fired years ago.

 

I think he wants to, but he's just not very good at it.  He hired a couple great coaches in the early days that brought him immediate success, and since then he's been mucking it up.  Maybe he takes too much credit for those Super Bowls.

 

See, now I'm back on comfortable ground, criticizing Jerry Jones.  Thank you.  :D 

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54 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

I think he wants to, but he's just not very good at it.  He hired a couple great coaches in the early days that brought him immediate success, and since then he's been mucking it up.  Maybe he takes too much credit for those Super Bowls.

 

See, now I'm back on comfortable ground, criticizing Jerry Jones.  Thank you.  :D 

 

You're welcome.

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Can’t pick just one...

 

Spanos Family (Went from tolerable to zeros by moving to LA and their team bereft of fans, funds, and future)

York Family (Drove the once great Niners into the ground and laid waste to the fan base off field)

Anthony Precourt (so bad at his job even MLS effectively stripped him of his team and sent him packing to Texas (where he’s not wanted))

Robert Kraft (Revolution only, not the Pats obviously)

Andrew Barroway (anyone dumb enough to buy the Coyotes)

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On 10/17/2018 at 12:42 PM, DnBronc said:

Ron Fowler-San Diego Padres

 

He was part of the previous ownership group led by Jeff Moorad that was also terrible. Under these owners, they have been Pittsburgh Pirates West.

 

There is a Facebook group called Change the Padres that posted a video on Dailymotion talking about the recent owners:

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxbap0

 

 

Actually Moorad never owned the team, the deal fell through before he got control. And technically Fowler doesn’t own them now either. Seidler, who was always the majority partner in the current ownership, is now controlling partner.

 

Regardless this is where I think we need to define what makes an owner “bad”. While the Pads have been a AAAA team in recent years, not for lack of trying to improve, off field the Moores, aborted Moorad, and Seidler ownerships have all been great (save one I’ll advised tribute to Bud Selig).

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