Raptors VP Isiah Thomas is "the darling of the media
who rarely fail to mention that if he gets control [of the
team] he'll be the first black to own a major sports
franchise," according to Peter Worthington in his column in
the TORONTO SUN. Noting Thomas' failed bid to buy the team
from Owner Allan Slaight, Worthington writes, "Some depict
Slaight as the bad guy in this because he won't sell his 81%
of the $125-million franchise for $75 million, thereby
losing almost $30 million. ... When he moved to buy control
from Slaight, Isiah Thomas hinted that if he didn't get
control he might not stay with the Raptors. ... That sounds
perilously close to a legal form of blackmail and seemed to
put Slaight into no-win quicksand. ... Few criticized
Thomas, the motivator and driving force of the Raptors. If
he'd been a white guy, I suspect there'd be a hullabaloo
about the ethics. But the media are dazzled by the
possibility of Thomas making history." More Worthington:
"[I]t's got to be an uncomfortable partnership when the
minority owner has more muscle than the majority owner and
wants control. To some this would be intolerable. But does
Slaight have the nerve not to blink?" (TORONTO SUN, 8/15).
