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Pistons Owner Discusses Controversial Prison Telecom Firm

Tom Gores and the NBA have been in regular communication on league's concerns about SecurusGetty Images

Pistons Owner TOM GORES said that it is a "'blessing' to be an owner of Securus," despite continued pressure from activists who say he profits on mass incarceration and years of criticism because of the "high cost of calls at some correctional facilities, which advocates say puts a financial burden on families who want to communicate with their incarcerated loved ones," according to Tyler Davis of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Gores said, "Maybe I'm crazy, that ultimately it'll be a blessing that I'm in there and that somebody cares about what's happening." Securus operates private telephone systems in jails and prisons for more than a million inmates. Advocacy group Worth Rises has set up a webpage that "details its issues with Gores and Securus." The NBA said it has been "in regular communication with Tom Gores regarding their concerns." Gores said the recent messaging "hurts." Gores: "I'm not gonna tell you that it doesn't." Several questions last Saturday touched on Securus during Gores' first media session of the season. He also spoke of the company's plans to "cut charges and indicated that he's a compassionate decision-maker for the firm" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/28).

TURNING UP THE HEAT: In Michigan, Lauren Williams noted advocacy groups this fall "turned up public pressure, first by writing to the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, from which Gores resigned," and then they "wrote an open letter to the NBA and took out a full-page ad in the New York Times." Gores on Saturday said that he is "committed to changing the system but that it will take time and patience." Gores: "I just think this is a unique opportunity for me [and] for us to impact the country and the world in a bit. Because it's not really about this one company. It's about an industry that really does need to change." Before Gores spoke with the media on Saturday, Worth Rises Exec Dir BIANCA TYLEK highlighted the reasoning for "pressing the sale of the team." Gores in response to Tylek shared that Platinum Equity, Gores' Beverly Hills-based private equity firm through which he owns Securus, had "aligned itself with influential people in the industry and activists to make the necessary changes" (MLIVE.com, 12/27). Tylek said, "The bottom line is, Tom is in a tough position at this point because he's getting a lot of bad public press. The most important point is that we are three years into his ownership of the company and he's talking about changes now" (ESPN.com, 12/26).

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