Bob Johnson, do we really want him as our owner?

[BIGCatBobcat]

I was flipping channels last night and came across Bob Johnson being interviewed on BET. He came across very, very poorly. I am not a democrat, nor an African American, I am only concerned with Bob as owner of my hometown basketball team, but he has made himself into much more. He is the first black billionaire if I'm not mistaken, he's got to have a huge voice in the black community because of that alone. He's given a lot of money to the Democrats so I'm sure he has their ear when he wants it. He said, and I found this to be the most offensive, when he was being pressed about his blatant dislike for Barack Obama, "I shook the man's hand, I had a fundraiser, gave him some money, $200,000, I'd like you to show me another African-American that's done the same..." and he sort of trailed off.

My issue is not with his politics, who he supports or votes for, what he thinks about any of that. He's the owner of the one team I am most involved in. Bob is definitely more involved with everything and anything but the Charlotte Bobcats. I know there aren't many owners like Mark Cuban, well, there is no other owner like Mark Cuban. I want a guy that will at least show up once or twice a year. He's been hitting the campaign trail and talking to every CNN, MSNBC, Fox News that would hear him, and he's said some seriously rude stuff.

I knew coming in we'd have an owner that was not a Charlotte guy. The ML Carr group, that included Larry Bird, was the same as ol' Bob. They just wanted to own an NBA team and Stern was only opening up shop in our fine city. I get that. Bob is not a basketball guy. He's an African-American community leader and basketball is huge in the black community, he wanted in and he seems to just want to be the first black everything. First all-black TV station, first black billionaire, first black majority owner of an NBA team(or any major sports league team, for that matter).

I'd never heard of the guy before he became our owner. I've been reading up on him a little and the more I see the more I don't like. He likes to make demands on the African-American community. Bob is not the best speaker, as anyone who has seen him address the crowd at TWC Arena can attest to. He sort of flies off at the mouth, most recently in the direction of Obama, making fun of his reported drug use, then apologizing, then saying he'll never be the candidate, then when he did become the candidate calling for the Black Caucus to pressure him to have Hillary Clinton as VP candidate, then when asked about it last night defending himself by saying who else has raised as much money as I have in the black community for Barack?

This is not about his politics, or race. The good-ol-boys around here have made enough of race, true Bob has preferred black employees but how is that offensive? The ticket takers and ushers at BOA Stadium are probably a higher percentage black than white, and the Richardsons are white, who cares about race in this day and time except for very ignorant people?

He's not here. He doesn't seem to have time for this team. He thought it was like a drink machine. You set it up, pay the guy to put the sodas in and collect the quarters. He is on the boards of so many corporations and the new political stuff bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I respect him, I think it's great for him to be involved in the black community as well as the politics that effect us all. I just want an owner that cares about basketball, what we're putting on the court, what kind of character they have off the court, and most importantly that's here. I haven't even touched on his ridiculous comments at the end of last season.

Do yourself a favor before you add comment, look up his stuff on You Tube. He is very ballsy, very demanding. If he gave 5% of the passion to basketball that he does to his political views we'd be one of the most important teams in the league, simply because of him. Bob wields such power in the economic, social and political community, why can't he give our Bobcats the time of day?

[dnbman]

I kind of understand your comments, most especially in criticizing his possible lack of passion for the team.

I guess I'm wondering what the realistic alternative is. Owners are owners. With few exceptions, their primary motivation is to make money or use the franchise as a symbol of their wealth. There aren't many teams where I even know who the owner is, let alone how they influence the team.

Being that I live outside of Charlotte, the issue is probably less significant to me, as I don't have a stake in the community. However, as a fan of the team, I'm not overly concerned who owns the team as long as good basketball decisions are being made. Obviously, you'd love to have a vocal owner who supports the team and puts a positive face to the franchise. However, I'm happy enough to have an owner who chooses smart people to run the organization and gets out of the way. Johnson seems to be that kind of owner.

[Scottley Crue]

I can see where you're coming from on this. On occasion, Bob can say some things that probably would have been better not to say. I'd prefer he not do that, but you've got to take the good with the bad.

One thing I'd say is just because he's not in front of the camera or sitting courtside at every game does not mean he's doing nothing for the team. They got on that "Gameday" presentation from ESPN last year due to him, if I remember correctly. Would it be better if he acted like Mark Cuban? That's a matter of personal preference.

Aside from that, the alternative was the Larry Bird/Steve Belkin group. Bird, in part, put together the Indiana teams that seemed to spend equal amounts of time in legal court as on the basketball court. Steve Belkin took his other owners to court over the Joe Johnson contract, saying it was too much to spend. Combined, that's not something I want out of owership. In my mind, hindsight being 20/20, Bob's not so bad compared to the other finalist.

In the end, I agree with dnbman...as long as he cuts the checks and lets basketball people do basketball things, I'm quite alright with it. If I see him, fine. If not, fine. Again, just a personal preference.

[Dunk]

He's entitled to his own opinion on politics. I won't hold that against him. One thing he probably should understand that, as a business owner and a high profile person, the more you speak out, the more you risk alienating your customers. I would go about that with some degree of caution.

As an owner, do I think he's been good? No. We finally got a decent TV deal last year. I still don't think he's put that right people in place to put the best product possible on the floor. Would it help if he was in CLT working on this full-time? Absolutely.

[davcbow]

I agree with all your opinions, but he is the owner so until he sells his share of the team to someone else it dont matter what he does in his eyes is the feeling I get....

[BIGCatBobcat]

I agree with all your opinions, but he is the owner so until he sells his share of the team to someone else it dont matter what he does in his eyes is the feeling I get....

I agree we are stuck with him. He did, when he started the team, talk about how he wants character guys. He hired a whole regime to start things out and now almost everyone is gone. If you're getting rid of the guys at the top, that has to come straight from Bob. I don't want Cuban. I think he's an obnoxious ass. I don't think the owner needs to be at every game, every home game, I don' think there is a quota on attendance. Do you guys realize we have 2 of the biggest names on the planet as part of our ownership group? Bob Johnson may not be on everyone's mind but he's a big deal. MJ is the single biggest athlete ever, although soon to be rivaled by Tiger. Between those 2, we should be at the forefront of the NBA. Bob should be bringing the Clinton's to games. MJ should be inviting his tremendously rich bookies. I don't question the character or views, just the motive and the dedication for both of these guys. My guess is Bob will sell out within 5 years, then where will our franchise be?

[davcbow]

I agree we are stuck with him. He did, when he started the team, talk about how he wants character guys. He hired a whole regime to start things out and now almost everyone is gone. If you're getting rid of the guys at the top, that has to come straight from Bob. I don't want Cuban. I think he's an obnoxious ass. I don't think the owner needs to be at every game, every home game, I don' think there is a quota on attendance. Do you guys realize we have 2 of the biggest names on the planet as part of our ownership group? Bob Johnson may not be on everyone's mind but he's a big deal. MJ is the single biggest athlete ever, although soon to be rivaled by Tiger. Between those 2, we should be at the forefront of the NBA. Bob should be bringing the Clinton's to games. MJ should be inviting his tremendously rich bookies. I don't question the character or views, just the motive and the dedication for both of these guys. My guess is Bob will sell out within 5 years, then where will our franchise be?

Maybe Bob will sell out to Tiger......

[BIGCatBobcat]

Is Bob hurting rather than helping?

I saw him on tv last night and I just said to myself "Is this really the owner of the Bobcats?"

[davcbow]

Is Bob hurting rather than helping?

I saw him on tv last night and I just said to myself "Is this really the owner of the Bobcats?"

Well big business is just that big business, he probably uses the Bobcats as a big tax write off each year when his real money comes from other places such as BET.....

[Mustachio]

He's entitled to his own opinion on politics. I won't hold that against him. One thing he probably should understand that, as a business owner and a high profile person, the more you speak out, the more you risk alienating your customers. I would go about that with some degree of caution.

As an owner, do I think he's been good? No. We finally got a decent TV deal last year. I still don't think he's put that right people in place to put the best product possible on the floor. Would it help if he was in CLT working on this full-time? Absolutely.

good post.

like Jordan always said. "Republicans buy shoes too". Regardless of what you think of him as a person, as a business man its not very smart to alienate an entire half of a population. but hes kept it away from the court mostly so its hard to call him out for speaking what he believes in. Just maybe he should take into account that "Republicans buy tickets too"