Discipline starts at the top

The details in Anucha Browne Sanders’ sexual harassment lawsuit about the operations of Madison Square Garden have been dismaying, not only because of the behavior they highlighted, but because they provided another black eye for our industry.

The sports business has taken a lot of hits in the last year, and it’s hard to believe that the continued erosion of standards that all of these incidents demonstrate won’t, at some point, begin to also erode the public’s support for the industry. But we’re not so sure of that.

Until now, we’ve seen little pushback from consumers when it comes to their love of games, despite the overwhelming evidence of players and front office executives behaving badly.

Ask a number of top sports executives what issue that they are most concerned about in our business and they continue to say behavior, ethics, integrity, the state of competition. But we continue to wonder if the fans care about those same issues.

The MSG situation marks another litmus test for the buying public. Will the unsightly portrayal of the top executives and calls for organizational changes by media observers force the public to respond?

The early signs? No. The Knicks last week proudly touted the fact that season ticket renewals were at more than 90 percent, their highest level since 2001.