Who Should Really Own the LA Clippers?
For all those hoping the Donald Sterling debacle will signal a significant turning point, there exists a far better resolution than transferring ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers to Oprah, Magic, David Geffen, or another high-profile mogul flush with cash.
In fact, there is no need whatsoever to continue with private ownership. Pro sports franchises, even ones as ineptly managed as the Clippers, are almost guaranteed to be profitable (the Clippers reportedly earned $15 million last year), a fact that is disclosed every time the owners' claims of financial hardship drag them to the bargaining table with players' unions.
Private capital is not needed to run these teams. The alleged shrewdness of mind and fiscal discipline, benefits touted as virtues that come attached to capital investment, can hardly be a requirement in pro sports ownership. Witness the billionaire fools - in this respect, Sterling is far from alone - who've merrily owned basketball, baseball, and football franchises over the decades.
The Clippers should be sold to the city of Los Angeles, or Los Angeles County, or a community-based ownership structure comparable to the non-profit (yes, non-profit!) corporation that since 1923 has run one of the most storied and successful franchises in all of sports, the Green Bay Packers.
Some 364,122 fans and supporters hold slightly more than 5 million shares in the Packers. To preclude anyone seizing control, no person is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares. When the team needs to raise additional funds, say for a renovation to Lambeau Field, they do not shake down the local taxpayers or threaten to pick up and move to a sunbelt city offering sweetheart incentives. They simply arrange a sale of additional stock.
The Packers will never move away from Green Bay, easily the worst media market in all of pro sports, and possibly the worst weather.
And Packers players and coaches and fans will never find themselves humiliated by egocentric morons who can do what they want because the team is their toy.
Note: the Packers unique ownership structure pre-dates the modern, corporatized NFL, which allows teams to be owned only by single owners, or small groups of owners.
If Geffen, Oprah, and Magic, et al really want to demonstrate their commitment to a society of multi-racial equality that reflects what they and so many others believe the sports world can exemplify, they now have a spectacular opportunity to do the right thing.
They should renounce their pursuit to take over the disgraced Sterling's ownership privileges and should put their influence and resources behind a campaign to have the Clippers sold somehow, via some mechanism, to a community-based entity representing the people and fans of greater Los Angeles.
Now that would be transformative. And there's not a good reason, legally or financially, that it cannot ultimately be finessed . . . except for the opposition of other NBA owners, who should know that the nation is watching to see if the admiration they've been lately flaunting for the great sporting public and "We Are One" style collective action is merely camouflage for business as usual.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
For all those hoping the Donald Sterling debacle will signal a significant turning point, there exists a far better resolution than transferring ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers to Oprah, Magic, David Geffen, or another high-profile mogul flush with cash.
In fact, there is no need whatsoever to continue with private ownership. Pro sports franchises, even ones as ineptly managed as the Clippers, are almost guaranteed to be profitable (the Clippers reportedly earned $15 million last year), a fact that is disclosed every time the owners' claims of financial hardship drag them to the bargaining table with players' unions.
Private capital is not needed to run these teams. The alleged shrewdness of mind and fiscal discipline, benefits touted as virtues that come attached to capital investment, can hardly be a requirement in pro sports ownership. Witness the billionaire fools - in this respect, Sterling is far from alone - who've merrily owned basketball, baseball, and football franchises over the decades.
The Clippers should be sold to the city of Los Angeles, or Los Angeles County, or a community-based ownership structure comparable to the non-profit (yes, non-profit!) corporation that since 1923 has run one of the most storied and successful franchises in all of sports, the Green Bay Packers.
Some 364,122 fans and supporters hold slightly more than 5 million shares in the Packers. To preclude anyone seizing control, no person is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares. When the team needs to raise additional funds, say for a renovation to Lambeau Field, they do not shake down the local taxpayers or threaten to pick up and move to a sunbelt city offering sweetheart incentives. They simply arrange a sale of additional stock.
The Packers will never move away from Green Bay, easily the worst media market in all of pro sports, and possibly the worst weather.
And Packers players and coaches and fans will never find themselves humiliated by egocentric morons who can do what they want because the team is their toy.
Note: the Packers unique ownership structure pre-dates the modern, corporatized NFL, which allows teams to be owned only by single owners, or small groups of owners.
If Geffen, Oprah, and Magic, et al really want to demonstrate their commitment to a society of multi-racial equality that reflects what they and so many others believe the sports world can exemplify, they now have a spectacular opportunity to do the right thing.
They should renounce their pursuit to take over the disgraced Sterling's ownership privileges and should put their influence and resources behind a campaign to have the Clippers sold somehow, via some mechanism, to a community-based entity representing the people and fans of greater Los Angeles.
Now that would be transformative. And there's not a good reason, legally or financially, that it cannot ultimately be finessed . . . except for the opposition of other NBA owners, who should know that the nation is watching to see if the admiration they've been lately flaunting for the great sporting public and "We Are One" style collective action is merely camouflage for business as usual.
For all those hoping the Donald Sterling debacle will signal a significant turning point, there exists a far better resolution than transferring ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers to Oprah, Magic, David Geffen, or another high-profile mogul flush with cash.
In fact, there is no need whatsoever to continue with private ownership. Pro sports franchises, even ones as ineptly managed as the Clippers, are almost guaranteed to be profitable (the Clippers reportedly earned $15 million last year), a fact that is disclosed every time the owners' claims of financial hardship drag them to the bargaining table with players' unions.
Private capital is not needed to run these teams. The alleged shrewdness of mind and fiscal discipline, benefits touted as virtues that come attached to capital investment, can hardly be a requirement in pro sports ownership. Witness the billionaire fools - in this respect, Sterling is far from alone - who've merrily owned basketball, baseball, and football franchises over the decades.
The Clippers should be sold to the city of Los Angeles, or Los Angeles County, or a community-based ownership structure comparable to the non-profit (yes, non-profit!) corporation that since 1923 has run one of the most storied and successful franchises in all of sports, the Green Bay Packers.
Some 364,122 fans and supporters hold slightly more than 5 million shares in the Packers. To preclude anyone seizing control, no person is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares. When the team needs to raise additional funds, say for a renovation to Lambeau Field, they do not shake down the local taxpayers or threaten to pick up and move to a sunbelt city offering sweetheart incentives. They simply arrange a sale of additional stock.
The Packers will never move away from Green Bay, easily the worst media market in all of pro sports, and possibly the worst weather.
And Packers players and coaches and fans will never find themselves humiliated by egocentric morons who can do what they want because the team is their toy.
Note: the Packers unique ownership structure pre-dates the modern, corporatized NFL, which allows teams to be owned only by single owners, or small groups of owners.
If Geffen, Oprah, and Magic, et al really want to demonstrate their commitment to a society of multi-racial equality that reflects what they and so many others believe the sports world can exemplify, they now have a spectacular opportunity to do the right thing.
They should renounce their pursuit to take over the disgraced Sterling's ownership privileges and should put their influence and resources behind a campaign to have the Clippers sold somehow, via some mechanism, to a community-based entity representing the people and fans of greater Los Angeles.
Now that would be transformative. And there's not a good reason, legally or financially, that it cannot ultimately be finessed . . . except for the opposition of other NBA owners, who should know that the nation is watching to see if the admiration they've been lately flaunting for the great sporting public and "We Are One" style collective action is merely camouflage for business as usual.