Devils Owner John McMullen called the criticism of a
"disproportionally small number of blacks" in sports
management "not fair" because "they don't choose to work,"
according to Filip Bondy of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. At a panel
discussion in New York titled the "Business of Sports,"
McMullen -- who is the former Astros owner -- went on to
say, "I've tried to hire several of these people. ... I've
offered plenty of players jobs, but they say they can't work
for $25,000. Their retirement and pension money is so
high." Bondy writes that what McMullen "really meant" was
that former African American players "chose not to accept
job offers, not that they wouldn't work at all." Bondy: "He
meant a lot of things, though, and not all were acceptable
by today's standards." After leaving the discussion
"early," McMullen then "expanded on subjects he probably
shouldn't have addressed in the first place." McMullen:
"We're the most successful franchise in the whole area, and
no one ever says thanks. Instead they're in here banging me
for not having a god-damn woman coaching my hockey team."
McMullen, on sportswriters: "They keep getting on me about
improving my team. They should improve the writers. Some
of these papers have the same reporters for 16 years." On
the Rangers: "They want to spend all that money, that's
fine. It's a great rivalry. But they're losing their
butt." Bondy calls McMullen "embarrassing, a man who
obviously hires more adept people than himself to keep his
successful, suburban franchise afloat" (DAILY NEWS, 11/19).
