After Bucks President Peter Feigin last week made comments about Milwaukee being the "most segregated, racist" place, he sought yesterday to tamp down the controversy by praising the community, according to Spicuzza & Gardner of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Feigin: "Milwaukee is a terrific community with wonderful people and I am proud to be a part of it. ... It wasn't my intention to characterize the general community as overtly racist." Spicuzza & Gardner note Feigin last week gave a "stark assessment of the community while speaking to the Rotary Club of Madison." Feigin was quoted as saying, "Very bluntly, Milwaukee is the most segregated, racist place I've ever experienced in my life. It just is a place that is antiquated. It is in desperate need of repair and has happened for a long, long time. One of our messages and one of our goals is to lead by example." Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said he had a "good conversation" with Feigin on Monday. Barrett said he told Feigin, "I'm happy that you're engaged in trying to improve our community." Barrett said that he believes the Bucks' leaders are "committed to working with him to address the city's racial disparities." Bucks co-Owner Wes Edens said, "The words he chose might have been a little different. All of the awareness of the situation is a worthy outcome of it." Edens added that the Bucks are "determined to help improve the city" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/28). Feigin's comments drew little attention when first reported late last week by the Wisconsin State Journal. Controversy emerged when they were picked up more recently by Deadspin, the Milwaukee Business Journal and other outlets. For a sample of fan reaction in the market, see responses to a Twitter post from Milwaukee-based sports talk radio station W289CB-FM, which asked, "Will the comments from #Bucks President Peter Feigin stop you from buying tickets to games?" (TWITTER.com, 9/27).
LOOKING AT THE ISSUES: ESPN's Bomani Jones said of Feigin's comments, "He's talking about it also in the context of trying to make Milwaukee better, like what the Bucks could do to make Milwaukee a better place, but he also referred to the hometown as being antiquated. People are going to be bad at that part, but saying that Milwaukee is the most segregated place he's ever experienced, there's probably some fact behind that. If you look at the numbers on residential segregation in Milwaukee, it is one of the most segregated places in America." ESPN's Dan Le Batard added, "This is a white person in power joining the conversation ... and when the white people join this cause with power you will see some changes" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 9/27).
BACK TO LIFE: In Madison, Dennis Punzel notes Bucks ownership is convinced a new arena will "reinvigorate the franchise" when it opens in '18. Feigin: "It's a 50-year old team that we are treating like a start-up. We have ripped it down to its studs. We really want to keep the equity of the legacy of the great history of this team and leverage it against the promise of the future." Feigin also acknowledges that the Bucks have a "major undertaking in trying to win back a fan base that has largely ignored the team for years." Feigin: "We've lost a generation of fans. We have lost the interest. We are the NBA team of the state. We have a great history, we are one of 13 teams that have an NBA championship. ... What we've got to do is reengage fans." Punzel notes one of the team's "primary targets" is Madison, which is one reason why the Bucks will hold their preseason camp at the Univ. of Wisconsin's Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion for the second consecutive year next week and "play an exhibition game" at the Kohl Center against the Mavericks on Oct. 8 (MADISON.com, 9/27). In Milwaukee, Charles Gardner notes there "likely won't be any third year because the team's training facility in downtown Milwaukee should be completed by next fall" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/28).
