Misfits, Miscreants: Your Table is Ready---Selena Roberts on your Commissioners

"“Commissioners realize, first and foremost, that their sponsors and broadcast partners are critical,” said David M. Carter, executive director at the University of Southern California Sports Business Institute. “When Stern holds a press conference, he is speaking to them far more than he is speaking to fans.

“Fans put up with anything. Fans put up with being priced out of buildings. They put up with players who, too often, don’t show them deference. So you can make an argument that, since the fans never seem to curtail their spending on sports, the leagues don’t have to solicit their feedback.”

A commissioner’s aim to please is confused by the needs of two constituencies. League sponsors demand a riveting product image but have a low tolerance for any issue that will alienate consumers. Network partners long for a hot promo topic that may or may not push the envelope on salaciousness but will attract viewers.

Commissioners are the enablers to the paradox whenever the hard line they verbalize doesn’t match the inflammatory personalities they market.

The image contradiction isn’t solely a commish issue. Just about any polarizing superstar can find validation from an owner or team or company. It was the Cowboys’ proprietor, Jerry Jones, who signed up Owens — and his Sharpie-wielding, team-dividing past — for $25 million in March.

A commissioner’s lip service may not be fulfilling or consistent, but it is enough for sponsors. And with this kind of sway, it’s corporate America and the network partners who are truly policing the images of the leagues.

What odd ethics cops. The business world’s standards are not always that reliable. Remember baseball’s Enron Field in Houston? The networks aren’t always the best watchdogs of decency. It took public outrage to cancel Fox’s O. J. Simpson extravaganza.

In surrendering their autonomy, commissioners have ultimately given up their moral authority. Who are they to decide who’s naughty and what’s nice?"

From Selena Roberts' NY Times article, 12/20/06

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