Bashing sports owners is so easy to do that you don’t even think about doing it. I mean, they’re exorbitantly rich and feed their need for control by making sure your favorite sports team plays out like his own personal fantasy squad.
You bitch about what they’re doing to the roster. You bitch about what they’re doing to the stadium. You bitch (loudly) about what they’re doing to ticket and concession prices. You bitch about pretty much anything that ridiculously loaded jerkoff has to do with the team you live and die by.
And since most professional sports owners also double as professional jerkoffs, ripping them is understood and accepted.
But every once in a while, it’s refreshing to discover that there actually is a beating heart or a praise-worthy soul inhabiting those vilified owners boxes.
Case in point — outgoing Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl.
After nearly 30 years of owning the team, Kohl recently sold the club to New York-based billionaires Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry for a cool $550 million.
Kohl, 79, could easily have carted off his millions and bid the organization a hasty adieu as he dove into his newfound riches like Scrooge McDuck. But instead, Kohl sent letter of thanks and appreciation to each and every employee at the Bucks’ home BMO Harris Bradley Center — and, most importantly, each letter was accompanied by a check for $500.
Just to say thanks for all the hard work they’d done for Kohl’s club all those years.
Kohl also served as a U.S. Senator to Wisconsin for nearly 25 years, so looking out for those in his community is nothing new to Kohl. As heir to the family-owned Kohl’s department store chain, he bought the team in 1985 — at the now measly cost of just $18 million. So there was a healthy $500+ million in profits to show for his three-decade investment.
But a personal check to every ticket taker, usher and concessionaire at the Bradley Center? Well done, Mr. Kohl. Well done.
