The Worst Owners in Sports

[Green Habit]

This would be another fun subject to make a tournament out of. "Worst" can mean many things--bad performance on the field, being cheap and soaking the fans and taxpayers with bills, or just being flat out douchebags. Clearly, Donald Sterling has historically chalked up demerits in all of these categories, so he'd be a clear cut #1 overall seed.

But who else does everyone have on this list? I have some more nominees, but I'll wait.

[Peeps]

dolan

[philpritchard]

Harold Ballard could compete head-to-head with anyone in a tournament like this.

[Simple Torture]

My knee-jerk reaction would be Jeremy Jacobs, due to all the pain he put me through for most of my childhood/young adult life (I think you're going to get a lot of the same reactions in this thread). But really I barely think about him these days, and--even though I wonder how much of a hand he actually had in them--the signings of Chiarelli, Julien, and Neely have made those years moot in a lot of ways.

[Simple Torture]

Also, 'cause we're on the subject: how disingenuous is all the "shock" that players, owners, and commentators have been expressing over Sterling for the past few days? I don't even follow the NBA Western Conference that closely (and the NBA is a 4th-tier league in my fan-dom), and I've known about his virulent racism for years; it was the worst-kept secret in the NBA.

[MattA75]

Dan Snyder
Al Davis and family
The Maloofs (Sacramento Kings)
Peter Angelos
Jeffrey Loria
Michael Jordan
Paul/Mike Brown

[Green Habit]

Dan Snyder
Al Davis and family
The Maloofs (Sacramento Kings)
Peter Angelos
Jeffrey Loria
Michael Jordan
Paul/Mike Brown

Add Sterling to that list and that's a pretty unassailable top 8 there. I'd take Paul Brown off, though--the Bengals were halfway decent and made a couple of Super Bowl appearances until he died and his idiot son took over.

[spike]

william clay ford sr

[Lament]

As a Packers shareholder I nominate myself for Best Owner in Sports.

[BurtReynolds]

Ford

[Joesanity]

The Maloofs (Sacramento Kings)

I don't think they own them anymore.

I'd nominate Jimmy Haslam. Not too many owners are being investigated by the FBI.

[philpritchard]

To add to my previous post, Harold Ballard ran the Leafs into the ground out of spite, intentionally ruined his best players' careers instead of acting in the best interest of the team, sold the team's Stanley Cup banners because they were earned when someone else owned the team... I don't think anyone in any sport is a clear step above (or... below?) him on the list of worst owners.

[Electromatic]

Hard to get past Art Modell or Robert Irsay...

[darth_vedder]

I'd take Synder off that list above and replace him with Jerry Jones. Not that I think Synder is a great owner, but he has backed off tremendously over the last few years and he's letting Bruce Allen run things.

[Self]

I'd take Synder off that list above and replace him with Jerry Jones. Not that I think Synder is a great owner, but he has backed off tremendously over the last few years and he's letting Bruce Allen run things.

There's room for both of those jackasses on the list, I think.

[darth_vedder]

I'd take Synder off that list above and replace him with Jerry Jones. Not that I think Synder is a great owner, but he has backed off tremendously over the last few years and he's letting Bruce Allen run things.

There's room for both of those jackasses on the list, I think.

That's true. I really hated the guy for years, but I like what he's been doing recently. Still though, his "bad" years outweigh the new years so he's still very worthy of being on the list.

[Green Habit]

Jerrah's only real demerits are having an ego the size of Texas and doing a job he's not qualified to do--and even then, at least he can consistently pull 8-8 seasons out of his ass. Plus, he's the rare breed that actually paid for some of his team's new stadium. I know he's got a personality that's easy to hate but I think he's got a tough time competing on this list. Especially over Snyder, who's got all this baggage to consider:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arti ... dan-snyder

[darth_vedder]

Jerrah's only real demerits are having an ego the size of Texas and doing a job he's not qualified to do--and even then, at least he can consistently pull 8-8 seasons out of his ass. Plus, he's the rare breed that actually paid for some of his team's new stadium. I know he's got a personality that's easy to hate but I think he's got a tough time competing on this list. Especially over Snyder, who's got all this baggage to consider:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arti ... dan-snyder

Well that article is like 4 years old. During that time, I would agree, but the man seems to have changed. He is really quite, out of the limelight (as much as possible), and handed over operations to Bruce Allen. There is just a different vibe with him than there was the first decade of his ownership.

[Green Habit]

Jerrah's only real demerits are having an ego the size of Texas and doing a job he's not qualified to do--and even then, at least he can consistently pull 8-8 seasons out of his ass. Plus, he's the rare breed that actually paid for some of his team's new stadium. I know he's got a personality that's easy to hate but I think he's got a tough time competing on this list. Especially over Snyder, who's got all this baggage to consider:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arti ... dan-snyder

Well that article is like 4 years old. During that time, I would agree, but the man seems to have changed. He is really quite, out of the limelight (as much as possible), and handed over operations to Bruce Allen. There is just a different vibe with him than there was the first decade of his ownership.

I hope that's the case, the Skins certainly deserve better. In a thread like this, though, we really do have to consider the whole historical picture.

It is good that Allen is finally getting a chance to truly run it all, after Al Davis, Jon Gruden, and Mike Shanahan were all interfering before. I don't know how he put up with that for so long. Historically, he's also doing it with the right team.

[swan]

Clay Bennett is a snake & fucked Seattle over in a bad way.