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Cablevision’s Decider
“All decisions at the Garden I make on my own.”
Thankfully, James Dolan made the distinction that, even if he considers himself a George W. Bush-like decider, he was specifically referring to the business of Madison Square Garden.
This of course was the classic quote from the federal court trial of Madison Square Garden and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas on charges that they sexually harassed former Garden executive Anucha Browne Sanders.
Of course, Dolan is also chief executive officer of Cablevision Systems, the forward-thinking outfit that happens to be Multichannel News’ choice two of the last three years as cable’s “Operator of the Year.’’ And Cablevision deserves better than to have its chief executive drag its name directly or in indirectly into the mud.
In the first place, he could easily just have stayed out of the pig pen. There was no need for this dirt to get a public airing, in the first place. A chief executive who cared about the companies he keeps would have found a way to settle out of court. To avoid this public spectacle altogether.
Sure, $11.6 million is not going to break the bank. It’s a rounding error for a family making billions to take their crown operating jewels private.
And, it’s a long ways from getting paid. Let the appeal begin.
But what kind of message is Dolan sending, intentionally or not?
First, that the dollars don’t matter. This could have been settled out of court for a fraction of the award to Browne Sanders. The real price is in reputation. Personal and corporate. And that price has already been paid.
You have Thomas painting himself, in court, openly, as a racist. No, it’s not okay for anyone to call a woman “a bitch,” he says. But he finds it less offensive if it’s a black man saying it, instead of a white man.
And he’s surprised that a jury believes Browne Sanders when she says he called her “a bitch” and not his denial of same? Could he not see this coming?
You have the salacious side show of Knicks star Stephon Marbury asking an intern whether she is going to get into a truck with him. And the intern going along, knowing full well it means having sex with the star.
And both Dolan and Thomas are willing to let fans – aka, customers – see the sleazy side of the sports business, because they don’t want to be seen as … sleazy?
Second, that they are self-centered. Do they think their only responsibility is to themselves? What about all the other (male and female) employees of Madison Square Garden, Rainbow Media, Cablevision Systems and associated companies?
You have to feel for Tom Rutledge and John Bickham, who make the cable business run at Cablevision. They don’t need this spectacle. They want to recruit (and keep) the best and the brightest of both sexes.
Yet James and Isiah are making it tough. And they don’t seem to really get worked up about the message they’re sending – that they are what matters, not the rest of the company.
Take a look at how Dolan is attired for his deposition. Or how Thomas always wears a smile, no matter how disturbing the testimony.
Long ago, the sports athlete ceased being a model to emulate for youth. Then the CEO went by the wayside as well, as an exemplar in the adult world.
This is a good case study in why.
The team no longer appears to matter.
