Bobcats Owner Michael Jordan “put out a strongly worded statement Sunday, denying he is of a mind to sell the NBA team he bought from Bob Johnson two years ago,” according to a sports section cover story by Rick Bonnell of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Jordan said, “I was disturbed to hear the false report that I intend to sell my majority interest in the Charlotte Bobcats. I am 100% committed to building the Bobcats into a contender and have no plans to sell the team.” N.Y. Daily News NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence wrote that Jordan “has contemplated selling if the team doesn’t turn around, both in performance and profitability.” Bobcats Exec VP/Communications B.J. Evans said that “to his knowledge, Lawrence never contacted the team for comment before publishing Sunday’s column” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/2). Lawrence in the initial report claimed Jordan “recently told his GM, Rich Cho, to start planning for a rebuilding campaign.” He also “dropped a bombshell, telling Cho and other deputies that if this one doesn’t produce a winner and he continues to lose millions over the next ‘three to four years,’ then he intends to sell the team.” Lawrence wrote this is a “change of plans for Jordan, who over almost the past year has been seeking a buyer to purchase half the team.” The Bobcats “lost $20 million last season and they’re headed for more big losses this season.” Jordan’s decision to give the assignment of rebuilding to Cho means that Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins “is on the outs” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/1). The AP's Steve Reed noted Jordan recently has “made efforts to help the community, and even agreed to a sponsorship deal with a local hospital in Charlotte.” He has said repeatedly that he “believes strongly in making an impact in Charlotte and the surrounding community through his position as Bobcats owner” (AP, 4/1).
IMPACTING HIS LEGACY? ESPN’s Rob Parker said if Jordan "were to cut bait and run from the Charlotte Bobcats, I would lose a little bit of respect for him." Parker: "I would say that Michael Jordan wasn’t willing to put in the work, the fight, the effort, to get this thing turned around. It’s not impossible to turn a basketball team around, but it takes commitment, it takes know-how. If you don’t know what you’re doing, then you got to hire people that do, put them around and make yourself the right team.” ESPN’s Bruce Bowen said, “As a business owner, when you lose a business, you go to something else. ... I don’t have a problem with someone that has learned the hard way as far as losing money, losing money, losing money, why wouldn’t they want to get out?” ESPN’s Skip Bayless: “If he wants to walk away from this because he is not capable of doing it, of hiring the right people, or picking the right people, that’s fine with me. It doesn’t bother me one ounce about what he did as a player” (“First Take,” ESPN2, 4/2). ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said, “It’s just remarkable how bad that team is and how poorly he has done. For a guy who was the consummate winner, who was as good at what he did as anyone I’ve ever seen ... to see how badly it has gone for him in his time running the organization in Washington and now here in his role in Charlotte." Greenberg: "As someone who admires him as much I do, it is tough for me to watch.” ESPN’s Mike Golic: “A lot of times you expect greatness to just continue in the next part of life they take on. ... This is surprising that just how bad it’s been for him” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 4/2).
