BLACK
ATHLETE SPORTS NETWORK
MONEY
MONEY
MONEY
MONEY
BREWERS ON THE
CHOPPING BLOCK
TIME FOR ACTION
FROM BLACK $$$$
FINALLY FREEDOM FOR THE BREWERS
It's the end of a Conundrum. How can someone own the consistently worst team in Major League Baseball and be an excellent Major League Baseball Commissioner at the same time. It appears we will not have to deal with that impossible riddle any longer. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has mercifully finally decided he will sell the MLB team he owns the Milwaukee Brewers.
Then we will be left with a far simpler riddle and at least one that is not a difficult Conundrum. The only question will become why is Bud Selig Baseball Commissioner at all ? We'll leave you to try and figure that out. It will give you something to do this winter weekend without football.
Our subject is much more useful. The announced sale of the Brewers creates an instant opportunity for the first ever Black ownership of an MLB franchise. Who will step up to the plate and why should they ? We hope to prove that is not a riddle even less a Conundrum.
Robert Johnson, the only African American to be certified as a legitimate Billionaire, has been making Noises about buying an MLB team for years. He has been placing his attention on a possible Montreal Expos relocation to Washington, DC. That remains a very speculative situation. While the sales of the Brewers is very real.
Johnson had no problem with buying an NBA franchise that will play in less than prime Charlotte. There is no good reason for him to disdain Milwaukee for baseball. But Johnson isn't really the issue. As long as just one Black name comes up whenever African American ownership of big league sports franchises come up, its a losing proposition for the Black community.
It provides the false stereotype, reinforces it that there isn't Black money out there to buy things like sports teams. Nonsense. While the white boys still control most of the Dough and probably will for a very long time, there is lots of Black money out there.
What needs to happen. What should already have happened is that African Americans with Money form an investment fund specifically to be ready to bid on major sports franchises that come available. Plenty of the white guys structure deals as investment partnerships. It is being done with a team sale in the NFL right now.
There are quite a few Black millionaires who could pledge from a few hundred thousand to a few million to this Black Sports Investment Fund. Take such a fund plus creative bank financing and a sports league willing to support Black ownership and any team in any sport is within the range of possible Black ownership.
For the right kind of investor with the right kind of time frame on their investments major sports franchises are not a risky investment and even before they start making money they always present leverage to the owners and their other business interests. And the one way virtually every sports team investment becomes a Winner is upon resale.
The ever escalating values and increasingly so with American sports all developing worldwide fan interest, and with large media outlets always in the market for major sports to broadcast, franchise value is a very good buy.
Additionally for African Americans the complete lack of Diversity in ownership in MLB, NFL and NBA ( except one team ) is a serious problem that should gain the cooperation of each of these Leagues to ease the path to at the least a modest amount of African American team ownership, by putting the resources and the credit of those Leagues if need be behind any African American driven offers.
The point is there is no reason African Americans cannot play this Game as well as anyone else. Beginning with the Milwaukee Brewers. Right now
Play Ball ! Play Money !!
Whenever you want to reach us with comments
or better yet an idea for a topic for the Box.......
blackbox@blackathlete.com
TIME FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS TO STEP UP
TO THE BLOCK AND BID ON THE BREWERS
Black
Box Series
