At some level within the final week, I anticipated Ted Leonsis to apologize. Not for his determination to maneuver the Washington Capitals and Wizards to northern Virginia — that’s a mea culpa which will come if Leonsis is compelled to return to his broken-down area within the District ought to the $2.2 billion Potomac Yard deal crumble.
No, I believed somebody would have sat Leonsis down and critiqued his odd efficiency on the Dec. 14 press convention in northern Virginia. There was an off-putting air of giddiness in regards to the billionaire that morning as he talked about responding to a “higher calling,” taking his groups south throughout the river and leaving the District behind. It got here off like Transparent Ted was dancing on the District’s grave.
“That is the higher calling on everything we do, to build legacies through winning championships, from doing to right things in the right way by our fans so that people can appreciate the community they live in,” Leonsis mentioned.
It was insulting, nevertheless it was additionally revealing.
He is just not the person he claims to be.
This ought to come as no shock, however to observe him say “We still have a responsibility to do a great job and continue to invest in Washington, D.C.,” with a straight face reveals the depths of his delusions and the magnitude of his ego — which seems to haven’t any limits.
I believed that as a while handed, those that advise Leonsis may need recommended an apology was so as. Might have identified that his “higher calling” comment was offensive to those that have to choose up the items he plans on forsaking. This is to not let metropolis officers off the hook. They are culpable for his or her neglect of Leonsis and the issues in and round his Capital One Arena.
But this column is about Leonsis — his model, his substance and his claims of being “accountable.” That phrase’s an enormous a part of Transparent Ted’s hole vocabulary.
He seems to be able to the act of apology. Before the Wizards opener this season, Leonsis form of gave one to followers in an interview on his Monumental Sports Network. “To be honest, I feel like I failed the fan base for the last three, four years,” talking of the group’s restart, reshuffle, rebuild, no matter you need to name it. It was a number of years too late, nevertheless it was a uncommon second of contrition.
Last week’s act may have used a second of contrition.
Whenever Leonsis feels the necessity to strut, I at all times really feel compelled to consult with his e-book, “The Business of Happiness,” by which he reveals the “six secrets to extraordinary success in work and life.” You should admit, it takes a number of you-know-what to put in writing a e-book telling folks find out how to be completely happy.
In it, he takes the time to pay tribute to the person he bought the Capitals and Wizards from, the proprietor who constructed the sector downtown and adjusted town – Abe Pollin.
“Abe was a remarkable man who built and sustained both the Washington Wizards and the Caps, and in the mid-1990s, he had taken on a very significant financial commitment, building a new arena in downtown D.C.,” he wrote. “Mr. Pollin had moved his teams from Landover, Maryland, into the heart of the District because he thought it would be better for the city he loved. He financed this himself, in an act of civic generosity that is increasingly uncommon among sports team owners, who often rely on municipalities —taxpayers — to build their new arenas or stadiums.”
Leonsis sought $600 million from town to repair up Capital One Arena, and his deal in northern Virginia may wind up costing greater than $1 billion from “municipalities — taxpayers.”
Guess Transparent Ted is not any Abe Pollin — although, when he wrote the e-book in 2010, he cited the late proprietor as a task mannequin of types when it got here to proudly owning a sports activities franchise.
“Owning the Washington Capitals is not simply being the proprietor of a business,” Leonsis wrote. “It is, as Abe Pollin said, a public trust. It has offered me an outlet for personal expression, as I’ve strived for transparency and continuous communications with our fans.”
And so Transparent Ted was born. Good luck ready for Humble Ted to make an look. He’s busy answering his greater calling.
You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
