JEWISH INFLUENCE IN THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS

Commssioner of Major League Baseball: Bud Selig
Commissioner of the National Football League: Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner of the National Basketball Association: David Stern
Commissioner of the National Hockey League: Gary Bettman
Commissioner of of Major League Soccer: Don Garber

All these heads of the 4 major American sports professional organizations are Jewish (2002).


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By the early 1980s Jewish individuals owned or controlled a huge number of professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and other sports teams. A sample includes the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Black Hawks, Cleveland Browns (Art Modell), Oakland A's, and part of the New York Knicks. [BAER, p. 30] (By the 1990s, both the New York Knicks and New York Rangers were owned by Viacom, headed by Jewish mogul Sumner Redstone). SILBIGER, S., 2000, p. 32] Sidney Shlenker, head of Pace Entertainment, owned the Denver Nuggets from 1985-89. Al Cohen was also one of the three owners of the Boston Celtics (he was also the chairman of the basketball owners' Board of Governors, beginning in 1986). Philip Mack owned the Minnesota Twins. Richard Bloch was president of the Phoenix Suns and also the chairman of the owners? Board of Governors. A Jewish entrepreneur, Ed Snider, still owns the Philadelphia Flyers pro hockey team (he also a board member of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust museum in Los Angeles. He also owns Prism, the largest regional pay-per-view TV network in America, as well as Spectacor, which includes TicketMaster and the Philadelphia Spectrum sports center). Irwin Jacobs controlled the Minnesota Vikings. Jeff Smulyan, the CEO of Emmis Broadcasting, owned the Seattle Mariners ("Smulyan has won civil service awards for his efforts on behalf of Jewish causes ... Reclaimed land in Israel has even been forested in his name." [PRICE, p. C1]

Bud Adams owns the (football) Tennessee Oilers (formerly in Houston) and Les Alexander owns the (basketball) Houston Rockets. Al Davis also eventually owned the Oakland Raiders, Carroll Rosenbloom the Los Angeles Rams, and Abe Pollin not only the Washington Wizards but also the Washington Capitals. "Pollin," noted the Jerusalem Post in 1997, "the most senior owner in the NBA, [was] a close friend of the late [Israeli] prime minister Yitzhak Rabin." [KUTTLER, p. 20] Pollin, with fellow real estate developer Albert Cohen, also built Washington D.C.'s entertainment and sports complex, the Capital Centre. Jewish entrepreneur Daniel Snyder also owns the other professional team in the nation's capital, the Washington Redskins (football). "The rest of the National Football League," noted the New York Times,

"has taken notice, not only of Snyder's fat wallet, but of his brashness, and some say, his outright arrogance ... Snyder earned his first million by the time he was 20, and by 31, he was the youngest chief executive of a company on the New York Stock Exchange." [FREEMAN, M., 8-6-2000, p. 1, 24]

There's more. By the 1990s Thomas Werner was the chairman of the San Diego Padres and Jerry Reinsdorf (described by Sports Illustrated as "one of the most powerful, loathed, and loved men in sports" [SWIFT, p. 76] controlled both baseball's Chicago White Sox and basketball's Chicago Bulls (Michael Jordan et al). In 1992 Bob Lurie, also Jewish, sold the San Francisco Giants for $110 million to a group of investors including (Gentile) George Shinn, Walter Shorenstein, Warren Hellman, (Gentile) Charles Schwab, and Richard Goldman (the mayor's chief of protocol). "Shinn," noted the San Francisco Chronicle, "gives motivational speeches and several books, one of which is called 'Good Morning, Lord?... Before leaving for San Francisco, he asked [Larry] Baer whether he should bring autographed copies of the book for local investors. Baer, knowing that many of the potential San Francisco investors were Jewish, said it would not be a good idea." [CARLSEN, p. A1] Nine of today's 22 part-owners of the San Francisco Giants are Jewish, including Larry Baer, the Giants' CEO. [ALTMAN-OHR, A., 4-14-2000]

In Michigan, William M. Davidson, owner of the fifth largest glass manufacturer in the world, Guardian Industries, owns the Detroit Pistons basketball team (Davidson's glass factory branch in Israel is the "largest single undertaking of private industry in that country.") [MAGINA, p. 42] Davidson also owns a women's professional basketball team, the Detroit Shock. (Davidson's gifts to Israel include a 1999 gift of $20 million to a scientific center, the Weizman Institute). Michael Illitch, also Jewish, owns the Detroit Tigers baseball and Detroit Red Wings hockey teams. Chris Cohan owns the Golden State Warriors. Larry Tanenbaum owns the Toronto Raptors. Charles Bronfman owned the Montreal Expos, later owned by New York art dealer Jeffrey Loria (Loria once commissioned Jewish artist Larry Rivers to "portray four millenia of Jewish history.") [HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, 1999] Malcolm Glazer owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hollywood producer Jeffrey Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994 from another Jewish mogul, Norman Braman. Eli Jacobs sold the Baltimore Orioles in 1992. Norm Green owns pro hockey's Minnesota North Stars (later, the Dallas Stars). Howard Katz sold the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996 to the Comcast Corporation (whose Jewish chairman is Ralph Roberts. Chief Financial Officer for the 76ers? Andy Speiser, also Jewish). [SALISBURY, G., 3-30-99, p. 65] Walter Haas (for years the head of the Levi-Strauss clothing company) was the principal owner of the Oakland Athletics (where he installed his son and son-in-law as executives) til the team was sold to Steven Schott and Kenneth Hofman in 1995. Eugene Klein, described by Sports Illustrated as America's "most successful thoroughbred [horses] owner," owns the San Diego Chargers. By the early 1990s, Robert Tisch was co-owner of the New York Giants and Howard Milstein owns part of the New England Islanders. Fred Wilpon owns the New York Mets. Jeremy Jacobs owns the Boston Bruins hockey team. Lewis Katz is the "principal owner" of the YankeeNets company, which controls the New York Knicks basketball team (president and CEO: Harey Schiller). Randy Levine is president of the New York Yankees.

Robert Irsay (originally: Robert Israel) died in 1997; at the time he owned pro football's Indianapolis Colts (moving them from Baltimore.) His son Jim took over ownership. The Baltimore Sun noted that Irsay was

"remembered best for his drunken public appearances and unstable
management ... Mr. Irsay became something of a legend for his
public denunciation of players and staff in Baltimore, and calling in plays from the owner's box." [MORGAN, p. 1A]

Tom Matte, a broadcaster for the Colts in Baltimore noted that Irsay "never created any good will. He only created bad will. And that's why the fans hated him." [MORGAN, p. 1A] His own mother called Irsay "a devil on earth." [MORGAN, p. 1A]

Donald Sterling owns the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team (he also owns over 5,000 apartment complexes in southern California, including 22 in Beverly Hills. [TURNER, p. 8] Herb Kohl owns the Milwaukee Bucks. Mark Cuban, well-known for accumulating fines for emotional outbursts against referees at games, bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000. Robert Kraft owns (football's) New England Patriots. (Kraft's wife, Myra, is one the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; she travels to Israel "at least four times a year" and "besides the state of Israel and her own Jewish heritage," notes the Boston Globe, "Kraft counts family above virtually everything else." [KAHAN, p. C1] Robert Kraft also owns his team's playing site, Foxboro Stadium. "Some people have said," noted Newsday in 1997, "that Kraft abuses power. After Kraft pursued and bought the tiny Robertson Paper Box Co. in Montville, Conn., in the 1980s, and built a new plant ... [the] move resulted in 300 layoffs." [ZIPAY, p. 79]

Ted Arison (CEO of the Carnival Cruise company, who also lives in Israel) owns the Miami Heat. Mel and Herb Simon (owners of the biggest shopping mall in the United States, among 130 others across America) own the Indiana Pacers basketball team. (Herb's wife, Diane, has served as the Democratic National Convention chairwoman). [APGAR, p. 1A] Phil Granovsky, until his death in 1995, was part-owner of the Toronto Raptors; he was also twice the local chairman of the United Jewish Appeal. Stan Kasten is the president of both the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Braves. Randy Levine is president of the New York Yankees. In 1997 Jon Stoll and Ken Horowitz became owners of Miami's new professional soccer team. Ed Tepper owns the Philadelphia Kixx soccer team. In 1998, Al Lerner bought the new Cleveland expansion football team for $530 million. (It was named the Cleveland Browns and Art Modell's original Cleveland Browns that had moved to Baltimore was christened the Baltimore Ravens). Murray Pezim, "one of Canada's richest citizens" [1991] owns the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian professional football league. [LOONEY, p. 90] Even an ultra-Orethodox rabbi, Joseph Gutnik, by the 1990s one of the richest men in Australia, is president of the Melbourne Football Club. In 1999, Howard Milstein, already co-owner of hockey's New York Islanders, led a group that sought to buy the Washington Redskins.

A few of these sports moguls have questionable pasts, having been linked (though never convicted of anything) with characters in the criminal underworld. Early in his career, Art Modell (owner of the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens) was chums with Ben Marden, "a former bootlegger and casino operator in Havana who was associated with [mobster Meyer] Lansky ... Modell also had ties to several bookmakers and gamblers." Modell was also partner in a horse-racing operation with Morris Wexler, who was described as one of the 'leading hoodlums' in running Empire News Service by a Congressional committee. Wexler was also "linked to [Jewish mobster Moe] Dalitz's Mayfield Road Gang" in Cleveland. [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 106] Modell was also an associate of William Weinberger, the eventual head of Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas. One of Weinberger's business pals, Jerome Zarowitz, was "convicted for trying to fix the 1946 championship game." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 107]

Jack Molinas was a Jewish basketball player in the early years of the professional sport. In 2002, a book came out about him entitled "The Wizard of Odds. How Jack Molinas Almost Destroyed the Game of Basketball." As a New York Times book review notes:

"Molinas, who had had a Jewish middle-class upbringing in the Bronx, was a sort of double prodigy in his own right. He took up both gambling and basketball in 1944, when he was 12 years old, and by the time he was starring for Sturyvesant High Scholl and then Columbia University, he was working with a mob-backed bookmaker -- betting against his own team, at times throwing games outright, at other times playing hard enough to win but intentionally bungling shots and dropping passes in order to stay under the point spread. 'To Molinas, playing in a rigged ball game was more exhilirating than playing it straight,' Charlie Rosen writes in 'The Wizard of Odds.' 'Was it time to kick a pass out of bounds, or get called for a three-second violation? Or should he go on a scoring binge to make his own statistics respectable? ... Molinas loved the idea of playing so many secret games at the same time' ... Molinas was, briefly, one of the premier high-scoring forwards in the fledgling N.B.A., before he was suspended for gambling during his first and only season with the Fort Wayne Pistons." [KONIGSBERG, E., 3-2-02]

Carroll Rosenbloom (owner of the Los Angeles Rams) and mob-linked Morris Schwebel and Lou Chesler were the three largest shareholders in Seven Arts, a firm that once managed to buy the film libraries of Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and MCA/Universal. [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 109] Rosenbloom (well known as "a notorious gambler") [MOLDEA, p. 133] and his associates built the first casino in the Bahamas, the Monte Rio. [MOLDEA, p. 131]

Another Jewish sports mogul, Sonny Werblin (owner of the New York Jets) "maintained close personal and business ties with Chicago mob attorney Sidney Korshak [also Jewish] who represented the underworld's interests in Hollywood." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 136] Werblin, also a division head at MCA in Hollywood, "was very close" to NBC head Robert Sarnoff (also Jewish) and managed get the television network to extend a five year contract to the fledgling American Football League (rival to the old National Football League), thus ensuring the new league's survival. [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 137]

There are also questions about Eugene Klein (owner of the San Diego Chargers). As Dan Moldea notes

"In March, 1970 San Diego Chargers owner Gene Klein was
registered at the twenty-one-room Acapulco Towers in Mexico
during a meeting of major underworld figures ... Among those
in attendance was [Jewish mobsters] Meyer Lansky and Moe
Dalitz ... Klein was one of twelve stockholders in the hotel, who
also included [Jewish lawyer to the mob] Sidney Korshak and
Moe Morton, a major gambling figure in California." [MOLDEA,
p. 232] (Other co-owners included Phil Levin. "Through his holdings," notes Moldea, "Levin exercised considerable control over the New York Knickerbockers of the NBA, the New York Rangers hockey team, and Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 466]

Klein was also once fined $20,000 by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office which accused his team of an "indiscriminate use" of drugs. The current head coach and eight players were also put on probation. The former Chargers head coach, Sid Gillman was also "placed on probation by the NFL for forcing his players to take drugs. Also punished for prescribing excessive amounts of amphetamines was Dr. Arnold J. Mandell, who was fired by the team psychiatrist but not charged with any crime." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 259] Mandell, also Jewish, was the co-chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California in San Diego.

In 1983, Jewish mogul Steve Belkin backed out of a deal to buy the Boston Celtics basketball team, citing too much negative media publicity and his "guilt by association" with close business associates. Belkin owned a company called Trans National. His vice president, Henry Lewis, had been "convicted, of kidnapping charges in 1969, and again on a bookmaking charge in 1977. He was allegedly under investigation for gambling charges." Lewis' brother, Alan, was president of Trans National and the Lewis' father, Edward, was also "a convicted bookmaker." In later years Belkin's interests bloomed towards common Jewish themes: he became friendly with officials at the Anti Defamation League and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies and "for the last year years," noted the Boston Herald in 1999, "he and wife, Joan, have taken 160 people to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC." [UPI, 7-29-83; RESENDE, P., 2-21-99, p. 35]

Jewish author Robert Friedman wrote a book about the "Russian" mafia in 2000; "Because the Russian mob was [and is] mostly Jewish, it was a political hot potato, especially in the New York area, where the vast majority of refugees were being resettled by Jewish welfare agencies." Friedman's book includes a look at "Russian" mafia influence in the National Hockey League "by threatening players from Eastern Europe and Russia and extorting money from them." [BONNER, R., 11-16-00]

In 2002, in Israeli, the professional Israeli Football Assocation (i.e., soccer), Shalom Ibn-Ezra, was embroiled in scandal when five referees were arrested "for allegedly taking money in exchange for fixing matches." "The police," noted Israeli newspaper Haaretz,

"have a list of suspects who are not referees, but are known to be involved in running illegal gambling. Some of them have a sporting past ... There is sufficient evidence floating around to cast a shadow over the viability of Israeli soccer. It is important that [sports minister Matan] Vilnai and Shalom move quickly, because after the next criminal fiasco, there will be nothing left of Israeli soccer to save." [KOFMAN, R., 5-8-02]


In 1984 David Stern became commissioner of the National Basketball Association and, as noted earlier, is still at the heal into 2000 (NBA publicist through the 1970s, Haskell Cohen, was also a columnist for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Deputy NBA Commissioner Russ Granik is also Jewish ). Robert Kraft, also Jewish, president of the National Football League from 1967-1970, bought the New England Patriots in 1993. Sara Levinson is president of NFL Properties, the league's merchandising division. Bud Selig, 35% owner and former CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers, has been the "acting" Major League Baseball commissioner since 1992, formally becoming the official commissioner in 1998. (In 1999 baseball's National and American league president offices were eliminated, thereby centralizing decision making in Selig's office). Sandy Alderson is one of major league baseball's vice presidents, for "baseball relations." By the 1990s Alan Rothenberg was the president of the professional soccer league, U.S. Soccer. Val Ackerman is president of the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1982 it was noted that Marvin Miller, as Executive Director of the Major League Players Association, "has single-handedly transformed baseball from being merely an American past time to a big business." [WALDMAN] For the baseball owners' part, under the cloud of a 1994 players' strike Jewish lawyer Richard Ravitch worked for them as their chief negotiator with the baseball union. On the other side of the battle, representing the union, was Donald Fehr who asked time off "so he and several members of his staff could prepare for Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday." [FISH, p. D3] Well-known professional sports coaches include Red Auerbach, Larry Brown and Marv Levy. [SILBIGER, S., 2000, p. 31]

At only age 28, Charles Harris was the number two executive in public relations at the Los Angeles Dodgers. "People always ask me how I could leave that for Israel," he says [he emigrated to the Jewish state], "But I knew that if it didn't work out here, I was young enough. I could always go back into sports." He eventually contracted to represent Major League Baseball in Israel. [ORBAUM, S., 7-28] And the Jerusalem Post noted the case in 2000 of Jewish baseball player Shawn Green: "When he compelled his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, to trade him, he stipulated that he go to a team with a large Jewish fan base." [ORBAUM, S., 7-28]

Gil Stein is both a former president and CEO of the National Hockey League. He was also the NHL's vice-president and general counsel for fifteen years. The current National Hockey League Commissioner, Gary Bettman, is also Jewish. (This makes the current -- 2002 -- commissioners of the five major American sports: professional baseball (Bud Selig), basketball (David Stern), hockey (Gary Bettman), football (Paul Tagliabue), and soccer (Don Garber) ALL Jewish). Under criticism during a 1994 strike, New York's Jewish-dominated Village Voice reported that

"Bettman has confided that his discomfort is increased by the
tinge of anti-Semitism that hovers in the strike rhetoric. Toronto
columnists have referred to Bettman as 'nebbish' and complain
the league is now run by 'New York lawyers,' and players have
joked that Bettman's wife would rather 'go shopping' than watch
a hockey game -- all of which can be construed as a code word for 'Jew' ... Some the game's patron saints, such as the Leaf's Conn Smythe and broadcaster Foster Hewitt, the original 'Voice of Hockey,' were known by associates to harbor anti-Semitic sentiments." [EXTON/SKOLNICK/KLEIN, 10-11-94, p. B28]

As the NHL's senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, Brian Burke, complained:

"In my mind a couple of writers [in Toronto] are clearly influenced in their coverage by the fact that Gary Bettman and much of the league hierarchy are American and that Gary Bettman and some of the other league higher-ups are Jewish." [GORDON, J., 10-23-94, p. B28]

For National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue's part, in 2002 he was awarded the American Jewish Congress' Louis D. Brandeis Award for "excellence in the law and commitment to the public good." "Tagliabue, who pledged to support Israel's war on terror," noted the Jerusalem Post, "until 'terrorism against civilians in Israel is no longer perpetrated and the integrity of the State of Israel is assured.'" [RADLER, M., 4-25-02] On November 13, 2001, the Archive of American Jews in Sports, a division of the American Jewish Historical Society, presented "its inaugural Hank Greenberg Sportsmanship Award to [deceased Jewish baseball baseball player] Hank Greenberg and professional sports commissioners Bud Selig, Paul Tagliabue, Gary Bettman and Don Garber." [http://www.ajhs.org/about/media_press]

Even the famous Black theatrical basketball team, the Harlem Globetrotters, was headed by a Jewish entrepreneur, Abe Saperstein, who bought the Savoy Big Five in 1927 and renamed them. [SILBIGER, S., 2000, p. 31] Red Klotz, also Jewish, still "owns and organizes Globetrotters' opponents, who have played under various names, from the Reds to the Washington Generals to the current New York Nationals." [JENSEN, B. 2-9-01, p. B15]


In the sports media world, Steve Greenberg -- former deputy major league baseball commissioner -- is the president of the Classic Sports Network. Howard Katz is president of ABC Sports (ABC Sports was sued in 2000 by fired reporter Lesley Visser for age discrimination). Harvey Schiller is president of Turner Sports. Steve Bornstein is president of the ESPN sports broadcasting company (where Al Bernstein has been an on-air "boxing analyst?for 18 years). A new [1998] ESPN boxing promoter is Russell Peltz.

"When ESPN became implanted in the national consciousness, Chris Berman emerged as its biggest star" and Ray Firestone is ESPN's "master interviewer." Both Berman and Firestone are also Jewish. [QUINDT, F., 1994, p. D1] In 1990, Robert Irsay, then owner of the Indiana Colts (and also Jewish) made the news for apologizing to another Jewish reporter, ESPN's Fred Edelstein, for saying, "Edelstein's a little Jewish boy and he doesn't know what he's talking about." [SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11-20-92, p. C2] For the roving (female) reporter role on CBS's 2000 NCAA basketball championships, we had Bonnie Bernstein. [This is just the tiniest beginning of a story. See later Mass Media chapter about Jews in prominent positions in the mass media. Also, click here to read one Jewish online web site's listing of Jews in prominent positions in the sports world].

In 2000, Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker, represented by the Jewish sports agency SFX, found himself in a kind of Jewish web, becoming America's nationally vilified scapegoat for political correctness when (Jewish) Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman reported Rocker's comments about New York City. He didn't like riding on the Number 7 subway train, Rocker told Pearlman, with

"some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS next to
some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time next to some
20-year old woman with four kids ... The biggest thing I don't like
about New York are the foreigners ... Asians and Koreans and
Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and
everything up there. How the hell do they get in this country?"

These comments, excerpted from Pearlman's story, were splashed across the newspapers of America and Rocker made international news as a mindless bigot. (Jewish) baseball commissioner Bud Selig fined Rocker $20,000, suspended him for a month, and ordered him to undergo psychiatric counseling. Weeks later Rocker passed Pearlman alone in a hallway, and bitterly yelled at the reporter for betraying his confidence. Pearlman reported this incident too, and Rocker was soon disciplined again and sent to the minor leagues.

Nat Hentoff (also Jewish) of the Village Voice was one of the few public voices that addressed the earlier context of Rocker's hostile comments:

"There was more to the Sports Illustrated interview than the parts that led to [Rocker] becoming a pariah. But the full details of New York fans' abuse of Rocker has been largely neglected by the media."

Rocker complained in the original article of being spit at by New York Met fans, he had bottles and batteries thrown at him, people screamed that they copulated with his mother, and someone threw beer on his girlfriend. Emotionally reacting to New York hostility with hostility, privately to the reporter, Rocker came close to losing his baseball career. Conversely, when reporter Pearlman was invited to speak publicly about the furor he had instigated, "he ducked interview requests from the Ted Koppels and Larry Kings of the world." [CLIMER, D., 4-23-2000; MORGAN, M., 6-22-2000, p. D2; HENTOFF, N., 2-8-2000, p. 39]

Jews have also long dominated the boxing world, as promoters, managers, agents, and other entrepreneurs. "So many of the fighters, trainers, promoters, and managers were Jewish," notes Allen Brodner about the sport's foundations, "that it would have been difficult for anti-Semites to obtain a foothold." [BODNER, p.4] For decades, Ray Arcel and Whitney Bimstein were the foremost trainers in the sport. Other prominent Jewish trainers included Heinie Blaustein, Freddie Brown, Manny Seaman, Charley Goldman, and Izzy Klein. Rocky Marciano's trainer (Al Weil) was Jewish, as was Rocky Graciano's (Irving Cohen). But, notes Bodner, "probably in no area of boxing were Jews important for so long a period as in the promotion of matches." [BODNER, p. 11]

Mike Jacobs, for instance, was a famed Madison Square Garden promoter -- pioneer Black heavyweight fighter Joe Louis fought for him 25 times. Jacobs, says Peter Levine, "became [in the 1930s and 1940s] boxing's dominant figure. Anyone who fought in a major bout in the United States went through 'Uncle Mike.'" [LEVINE, P., p. 183] As a promoter, notes Jack Newfield, Jacobs had "total control, total monopoly" over Joe Louis. [NEWFIELD, J., 1995] Over objections from many in the Jewish community, Jacobs even promoted the German Nazi's heavyweight contender, Max Schmeling, in 1936 to fight Louis in New York City. Schmeling won, a propaganda boost for Aryan fascism. Incredibly, even Schmeling's manager was Jewish -- another Jacobs, this one Joe. A proposed Schmeling fight for the world heavyweight crown against then-champ Jimmy Braddock never materialized, reportedly due to pressures put upon Braddock's own Jewish manager, Joe Gould. [LEVINE, P., p. 186]

"Max Baer," also notes Steven Silbiger,

"was the heavyweight champion in 1933 and wore a Star of David on his boxing trunks. Although he is often mentioned as a Jewish sports hero, he was not even Jewish. By passing as a Jew, though, he developed a loyal following of Jewish fans who supported his career." [SILBIGER, S., 2000, p. 31]


Other prominent Jewish promoters have included Harry Markson and Teddy Brenner. Nationally/internationally, Sam Silverman staged fights in Boston, Jack Solomon in London, Herman Taylor in Philadelphia, Harry Glickman in Seattle, and Bernie Feiken in Baltimore. In recent history, controversial promoter Bob Arum, originally a Harvard-trained lawyer, has often been in the public eye. Arum's Top Rank firm has managed many of recent history's most famous boxers, including Muhammed Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, George Foreman, and Oscar De La Hoya. More recently too, for example, when controversial heavyweight fighter Mike Tyson left Black boxing entrepreneur Don King in 1998, Tyson's new "advisors" were Shelley Finkel, Jeff Wald, and Irving Azoff (the latter two also prominent in the recording industry). [SPRIGER, AN EERIE, p. C1, C4] One of Tyson's early co-managers was Jim Jacobs. Across the world, Rodney Berman, also Jewish, "is not only the leading boxing promoter in South Africa, but his Golden Glove Promotions is one of the top companies in the field worldwide." He promoted Hasim Rahman's victory over Lennox Lewis in the 2001 heavyweight championship. [BELLING, M., 4-27, 2001]

In 1997, the "first female boxing manager," Jackie Kallen, also Jewish, was inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. That same year she was the commissioner of the new "International Female Boxers Association." "That's what men want to see," Kallen says, "Sex sells. Men like to see beautiful women tie their hair back, go in there, and beat the ... out of someone." [SPRINGER, S., p. C10]

The Everlast Company, which for years monopolized most of the boxing equipment market, was also Jewish-owned, as was the sport's periodical bible, Ring Magazine (run by Nat Fleisher). In horse racing, Sam and Dorothy Rubin even owned John Henry, the most profitable race horse of the early 1980s. Hollywood Jews built the Los Angeles Hollywood Park race track (MGM head Louis Mayer was by 1945 the "second leading money winner in America." [GABLER, N., 1988, p. 263, 265] A Jewish entrepreneur in Texas, Jerry Meyer, is the chairman of Pinnacle Brands, which sells over $150 million worth of sports products and souvenirs a year. [FRIEDMAN, p. 32] The Sorin family founded and controls the famous Topps baseball card company. Mike Levy is the CEO of Sportsline, USA, an internet website worth $285 million.

Eventually, Jewish gangsters like Meyer Lansky, Dutch Schultz, Waxey Gordon, Bugsy Siegel, Arnold Rothstein, and Lepke Buchalter helped move the criminal underworld into boxing. "The gamblers who did business in the rear of each fighting club," observes Allen Bodner, "were Jewish, as were many of the managers and promoters. It was a logical step for the Jewish racketeers to move aggressively into boxing." [BODNER, p. 130]

The world of sports betting and gambling has long been largely Jewish as well, influenced in many spheres by the Jewish criminal underworld and the Italian Mafia. Mort Olshan, for example, was "perhaps the most renowned football [betting] handicapper in the United States and publisher of the widely read Gold Sheet." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 29] From Minneapolis, Billy Hecht's Gorham Press "became the first national odds making institution. Many considered its newsletter to be a bible for gamblers." Leo Hirschfeld became a partner at Gorham Press in 1940, and its name changed to the Weekly Gridiron Review. [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 61] Moses Annenberg created The Daily Racing Form (for the betting on horse races) in 1922, soon to be embraced by the criminal underworld. William Kaplan created Kaplan Sports in the 1930s and the bulletin Handicapped. Kaplan "was also a close associate of Sidney Wyman, a former St. Louis bookmaker and a known front man for mob casino operations in Las Vegas." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 86] Sam Minkus was "the owner of National Publications of Miami, the largest producer of football betting cards in the United States." [MOLDEA, p. 87]

Brooklyn-born Robert Martin "has been the most influential sports odds makers in the United States since the 1950s." Close associates were Julius Silverman and Meyer Schwartz. All three "were convicted of illegal gambling activities" and sentenced to five years in prison, but the surveillance system used to watch them was declared to be illegal and they were freed. [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 192] "During the 1950s and 1960s, the outlaw [sports betting] line was controlled by the New York Mafia ... The man responsible for managing the outlaw line for the Chicago Mafia was Frank Larry 'Lefty' Rosenthal." [MOLDEA, 1989, p. 239] In Boston, Burton "Chico" Krantz "became a notorious Boston bookmaker who ended up as a key government witness against leaders of the mob in New England to whom he was forced to pay 'rent,' or protection money." [KORSEC, T., 1-27-2000]

In 2000, Jay Cohen, founder of an online sportsbook called World Sports Exchange (wsex.com: "the Internet's most popular and profitable online gambling site"), and partners

"were charged by the US government with taking sports wagers by phone and over the Internet, in violation of the Wire Act. Cohen returned to the US to stand trial and was convicted by a New York jury. He was fined $5,0000 and sentenced to 21 months in prison." [CASINO NEWS, 1-10-01]

(Head of the "International Association of Gaming Attorneys?" Lloyd D. Levenson.) [PR NEWSWIRE, 9-28-99]


"Pick up a player, any player," declared Black Enterprise magazine, "among the ten highest paid black athletes in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), or Major League Baseball, and 29 out of 30 have an agent who is anything but black." [CLAY, p. 48] These agents are overwhelmingly Jewish; those noted by Black Enterprise include Marvin Demhoff, Steve Zucker, Barry Axelrod, and Leigh Steinberg (who had the largest stable of NFL athletes, about 70, by 1995). Steinberg, noted the New York Times, "does the bidding for nearly every quarterback in the NFL." [HIRSCHBERG, L., 11-17-96] "Leigh Sternberg," adds the (Jewish) Forward, "virtually created the modern sports agent in 1975." [Smith, B., 9-4-98, p. 18] He also "underwrites the Anti-Defamation League's Steinberg Institute." [ALTMAN-OHR, A., 1-7-2000, p. 38]

In 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called another Jewish agent, Tom Reich, "a super agent, a pioneer in his industry and one of the most influential men on the landscape of pro sports in the 21st century." Reich was

"the first agent to win a baseball player a contract worth $1 million a year, counting deferred payments. Reich with the Pirates' Dave Parker in the last 1970s. [He was also] the first agent to win a hockey player a contract worth $2 million: Reich with the Penguins' Mario Lemieux in the late 1980s ...[Reich]
long ago set up shop in Los Angeles, Florida and New York, the first and last because of their market importance, the middle one because, well, doesn't every Jewish boy of his generation crave a Miami abode?" [FINDER, C., 4-29-01]

By 1996, another Jewish sports agent, David Falk, had 38 clients in professional basketball, the largest number of any agent. These were in large part a group of elite players like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and Allan Iverson. (Falk, marketing whiz, conceived and pushed the "Air Jordan" basketball shoe as well as a Warners movie featuring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny). "We don't want to grow to fast or become too large," he said about his agency called F.A.M.E., "We want to remain a boutique for star players." [BANKS, L., 1-21-96] "Since Falk controls a large block of top players," noted the New York Times, "he can in many ways dictate the structure and the economics of the entire league. Falk is considered the second most powerful person in the NBA after its commissioner, David Stern [also Jewish]." [HIRSCHBERG, L., 11-17-96, p. 46]

Another prominent sports agent in the basketball world, Arn Tellem, is also Jewish (by 1997 he was the agent for 22 players, including Kobe Bryant and Reggie Miller). Tellem also has a reputation for representing temperamental and controversial players (described by the New York Daily News as "infamous clients"), including Latrell Sprewell, J. R. Rider, and baseball's Albert Belle. Tellem started out in the agent business with partner Steve Greenberg, who has since become the president of Classic Sports Network. [COFFEY, W., 12-7-97, p. 102]

Both Tellem's and Falk's companies were bought out in 1998-1999 by SFX Entertainment, a talent agent conglomerate founded and headed by Jewish entrepreneur Robert F. X. Silberman. [See Mass Media section] David Falk became the chairman of SFX's sports division, SFX Sports Group. [SANDOMIR, R., 1-30-2000, p. 15; NEW YORK TIMES, 10-1-99, p. D6]]

Basketball hero Magic Johnson has been represented by Leo Rosen since 1987. Eric Grossman is the agent of controversial baseball star Daryl Strawberry. Alan Hirchfeld (with a number of past problems with the law) went into business with boxer Mohammed Ali, founding Champion Sports Management. [JENKINS, p. 175] African-American golf star Tiger Woods' agent is Mark Steinberg. (Famous Black golf pro Arthur Ashe's father even "was a driver for a wealthy Jewish man in Richmond, Virginia, named William Thalhimer." [BERKOW, IRA, 12-26-95, p. D12] Superstar Ken Griffey's agent is Brian Goldberg. [msnbc.com, 7-28-01] Mark McGwire's agent as he chased major league baseball's single season home run record was Bob Cohen.

McGwire's home run challenger in recent years has been Sammy Sosa. In 2000, Sosa made the news when his charitable foundation in the Dominican Republic was revealed to be close to bankruptcy. "Chase Kaufman," noted the Associated Press, "a member of the foundation's board, said he once bought Sosa's brother, Jose, a sports car with money from the foundation.... Adam Katz, one of Sosa's agents, told [Fortune magazine], 'I can assure you there's been no impropriety." [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 4-4-2000] Katz also represents other players on Sosa's Chicago Cubs baseball team. Sosa is also a client of Tom Reich. [FINDLER, C., 4-29-01]

Other prominent Jewish sports agents include Lawrence Fleisher who "was not only the [NBA] union's general counsel and strategist but also the biggest agent to NBA players, with a roster of more than 30 clients, most of them stars." [CHADWICK, p. 39] And down South, "no agent in the NFL," said a Florida newspaper in 1995, "has ever had as many players on one team [17] as [Drew] Rosenhaus has with the [Miami] Dolphins, and so in this new era of free agency, no agent has wielded so much potential influence over a single team." [MELL, p. 1C] Rosenhaus' autobiography is called A Shark Never Sleeps. Wheeling and Dealing with the NFL's Most Ruthless Agent. "I was born -- to be an agent," says Rosenhaus. "I was nurtured to dominate in this business from the day my parents brought me home from the hospital." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 13] He was born, too, to a very affluent family: "My first car was a Porsche 944, then I had a Delorean. I had cars like that in high school because my dad would sacrifice the world so that I could be THE MAN. Cars were the thing at that age. They identified you. So my dad, whatever it took, found a way to make me the man." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 25]

Rosenhaus got his start in the business under fellow Jewish agent Mel Levine who was at the time "the hot agent." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 48] (Marvin Demoff was also "one of the top agents in the business.") [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 76] Rosenhaus began scheming to betray Levine as soon as possible, taking over his employer's clients: "[Levine] had let the shark into the fish pond. It was a day Mel would never forget ... By the time I got into the car and started driving, I knew it was just a matter of time before I took over. Within fifteen minutes of getting the job, I wanted to make ME the top guy." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 52] Rosenhaus' road to the top was made easier by the fact that Levine soon went to prison: "Almost over night, Levine was out of business. The claim was Levine stole money from his clients. I was shocked. Levine was charged with certain white collar crimes and ultimately he went to jail on a tax charge. The suspicion that Levine was another one of those agents who stole money from his clients spread like brushfire. He lost his clients. Money got lost -- and when that happens, bad things follow." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 89] Levine had earlier "beaten an NCAA investigation that claimed he had purchased cars for a number of college recruits. This huge scandal in South Florida was called 'Auto Gate.'" [ROSENAHAUS, D., 1997, p. 48]

"Agent," confesses Rosenhaus about his chosen career, "considered a four-letter word, or referred to as the 'A word,' is synonymous with being a sleazeball lawyer. I became the face for this picture. I became the poster boy for greed in sports today. I wanted to be famous; I became infamous." [ROSENHAUS, D., 1997, p. 112] Sports Illustrated even featured him on its cover (July 15, 1996), calling him "The Most Hated Man in Pro Football."

The firm Magnum Sports and Entertainment (Chairman: Charles Koppelman; President and CEO: Robert Gutkowski; head of the football division: Joel Segal) by 2001 represented over 40 National Football League players. [http://www.wwentertainment.com]


Another prominent Jewish lawyer/agent, Frank Rothman, also represented the National Basketball League itself, as well as National Football League. Still another, Bob Woolf, represented 9 of the 12 Boston Celtics in their most recent championship years, 14 of the members of 1967 Boston Red Sox (a championship year), and 2,000 clients in total. "I'm very Jewish-oriented," said Woolf in 1992, "[and] ... I'm proud of the basketball tournament that's been held in my name in Israel for the past 15 years." [ROTHENBERG, p. 22]

In 1990, sports agents Lloyd Bloom and Norby Walters were convicted by jury trial of "racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy, and two counts of mail fraud." An appeals court overruled the conviction. These agents preyed upon college athletes, breaking NCAA collegiate rules to sign sports stars to contracts before they finished college. In a three year period, 58 athletes were signed from 32 different schools. Walters, also a booking agent (for a short time even the agent of African-American singer Dionne Warwick) and nightclub owner, had ties to organized crime. (Mobster Michael Franzese even testified that he invested in the two agents' business start-up costs). Bloom was initially convicted of fraud and making extortionist threats to former clients. In 1992, Bloom only pleaded guilty to mail fraud. [FIFFER, S., 1989, 4-14-89; FIFFER, S., 1989, 4-23-89; LEGAL INTELLIGENCER, 8-31-92, p. 4]

In Great Britain, Jonathan Barnett and David Mannaseh own Stellar Management, the agency for "nine of Britain's top athletes." They both are members of the same synagogue. Barnett "is a patron of Girl's Town -- Or Chadash, an Israeli-based charity, assisting underprivileged children and adults. The charitable interests of his Israeli wife, Nava, include Jewish Care." [LEVITT, L., 3-201, p. 19]

Going to buy a hot dog at a sports event? Chances are good that you'll be putting money into the hands of Larry Levy, co-founder -- with his brother -- of Levy Restaurants. This firm owns "more than 20 major sports, entertainment and convention foodservice concessions," as well as 21 restaurants in a variety of cities, including New York and Chicago. Contracts include "several new Major League sports venues in Denver, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Miami and Cleveland." A new National Basketball Association store in New York City also features a Levy restaurant. [WALKUP, C., 8-10-98]



In the bodybuilding world, Joe Gold founded the famed Gold's Gym and, later, World Gym. But another Jewish entrepreneur, Joe Weider, has long dominated the sport as the most aggressive business monopolizer of weight training products and bodybuilding competitions. Weider started the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest in the 1960s; he brought Arnold Schwartzenegger to America in 1968. By the late 1990s Weider's empire was worth $400 million and nephew Eric Weider was installed as the CEO of the Weider Health and Fitness company. The Weiders run 12 brands and produce about 1,400 products; in the nutrition category, these include Tiger's Milk, PrimeTime, Fi-Bar, Signature, Great American Nutrition, Excel, Metaform, and Victory. Weider products can be found in 38,000 retail outlets, in every American state. [CHAIN DRUG REVIEW, p. 260] Bob Paris, a former Mr. Universe also under contract to Joe Weider, and whose personal manager was also Jewish, Harry Kessel, notes that

"For good or bad, Joe and his brother Ben control bodybuilding. The company they both privately own publishes magazines (Muscle and Fitness, Shape, Flex, and Men's Fitness), makes vitamins and other supplements, training equipment, and fitness clothing. Joe is publisher of the magazines and overseas operations of the empire. His brother Ben keeps a low public profile as far as all the companies are concerned, but is president of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), an organization with 160 or more member nations that for all
intents and purposes is the only legitimate international bodybuilding organization ... The Weider brothers claim that the IFBB and the Weider companies are separate and completely unrelated. Only a naive fool would believe that." [PARIS, p. 72-73]

In what Paris suggests is a "monopoly" of the Weider firms and the IFBB, the most exceptional bodybuilders are inevitably forced to sign promotional contracts with Weider for his product endorsements and to pursue a career in the field. "They put a clause in the IFBB rule book," says Paris, "that says an athlete can be suspended just for publicly criticizing or questioning any of the policies of the IFBB or its officers." [PARIS, p. 74]

In the field of violent spectacle, Robert Meyrowitz, president and CEO of SEG Sports, is the brainchild (and Executive Producer) behind the regularly scheduled Ultimate Fighting Championships where "almost anything goes -- elbow chops, head butts, knees to the groin (only eye gouging and biting are frowned upon)." [PLUMMER, p. 86] Meyrowitz, noted Forbes, in his earlier years, was "one of the leading radio impresarios in the United States, supplying hundreds of stations with canned programs." [NEWCOMB, p. 328] His new company markets brutal fighting on pay-per-TV, in 1995 reaching 300,000 American homes for $24.95 per showing. By then, however, his bouts were formally banned in three states -- Kansas, Ohio, and South Carolina. Senator John McCain of Arizona joined many protesters, saying that he objected to the UFC on "a moral level ... [It embodies] the decay of American society. And I'm opposed because of risk to the health of the combatants." [PLUMMER, p. 86] By 1998, because of continued angry nation-wide condemnation, Meyrowitz's promotions were formally banned on many pay-per-view networks, including Cablevision Systems, InterMedia Partners, CI, TIme-Warner, Adelphia, Jones Intercable, and Request.

Promoter Don Gold, at a company that distributed UFC bouts on videotape (Vidmark Entertainmment), noted that the action in one of their most recent tapes "was very violent. There was a lot of blood, broken bones, and some fighters were taken away in an ambulance. But people into martial arts will love this." [FITZPATRICK, p. 57] Rich Goffman, a marketing executive at Star Video, who had an advanced screening of the Vidmark tape, observed that "on one hand, it was sick and I was horrified because it was so brutal. On the other hand, it was unique and nothing like anything I've ever seen before." [FITZPATRICK, p. 57]



In the world of scripted theatrical (i.e., "fake") wrestling, Eric Bischoff heads the World Championship Wrestling organization. David Meltzer publishes the Wrestling Observer. [BACHMAN, J., 4-8-2000] One of the major promotions of the WCW is a former professional football player, Bill Goldberg, known simply in all the sensational hype by his clearly Jewish last name. He recalls what image he sought to create in his wrestling character, i.e., what would be his best marketing ploy:

"I was considering calling myself the Beast, or the Annihilator, and I even went so far as considering the name 'the Mossad,' after the Israeli secret service." [GOLDBERG, B., 2000, p. 50]

He decided on simply his last name, which has become a media icon for Jewish physical (and other?) power. Goldberg's managers are also Jewish, Barry Bloom and Michael Braverman. The man Goldberg fought early in his career for the U.S. title in this world of creation and illusion was also Jewish: Scott Levy, known professionally as "Raven." [GOLDBERG, B., 2000, p. 74] (Other Jewish wrestlers in the circuit include Dean Simon [stage name: Dean Malenko] and Barry Horowitz). [GOLDBERG, B., 2000, p. 110] Goldberg, so recognizably Jewish, was introduced into the WCW with over 150 straight (scripted) victories. Although Goldberg's accomplishments are merely orchestrated, theatrical illusion, he notes that

"there is a marketing company in New York that conducts surveys to determine the popularity and marketability of celebrities and athletes. The result is called the Q rating. Michael Jordan [the basketball star] had the highest Q rating in the country for ten years. At one point in 1998, he dropped to number two behind ... yes, as strange as it may seem, it was Goldberg the wrestler." [GOLDBERG, B., 2000, p. 116]

"Thanks to the tremendous media coverage," he notes elsewhere, "my popularity was skyrocketing. It's funny, because people have actually come up to me and asked if Goldberg is my real name." [GOLDBERG, B., 2000 p. 110]

Goldberg was the only wrestler listed in the 1999 Sporting News "Most Powerful People" in sports. "Goldberg," notes Daniel De Vise and Jared Varsallone,

"once appeared on the front page of the newspaper USA Today beside a headline that read, 'How Bad Is Wrestling for Your Kids? ... The Jewish National Fund will present him with its prestigious Tree of Life award this fall in Israel." [DE VISE/VARSALLONE, 8-6-2000]

"I have received various honors and awards from Jewish organizations," he says,

"I've been asked to give out awards at the Maccabee [sport] games in Israel and to speak at the Young Jewish Men's conference. The Jewish National Fund wants me to dedicate a water project in Israel, and I was offered a ride on the Estee Lauder family plane ... One thing's for sure, when I do decide to give up wrestling, I could have a long and profitable career on the Bar Mitzvah circuit." [GOLDBERG, B., 2000, p. 111]


In 1996, Jewish entrepreneurs Marvin Winkler and Jay Schottenstein bought into the Gotcha company, an organization that "owned U.S. Surfing, which produces the OP Pro Surfing Championship, a television show and three extreme-sports magazines. A year later, they owned a controlling interest in both companies." [EARNEST/RECKARD, 10-10-99, p. C1] Going hiking? Mark Goldman is Chairman of Eastpak, a Massachusetts-based backpack manufacturer. [GELBWASSER, M., 6-11-98, p. 2] Bowling? In 2000, Rob Glaser became one of three owners of the Professional Bowlers' Association (PBA). [PEZZANO, C., 3-26-2000, p. S19] The head of Brunswick, the billiards and bowling firm founded in the late 1800s, was John Brunswick. He was also Jewish. His son-in-law, Moses Bensinger, took over the company at the founder's death. [JEWHOO, 2000]

Going skiing? By 1973, Mark Fleischman and Robert Millman headed the company (Davos) that ran "the biggest ski area in the world," Mt. Snow, in Vermont. [Berry, I.W., 1973, p. 113] More recently, "two of the country's largest ski operators" are Vail Resorts (its holdings, rooted in Colorado, include Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone) and the American Skiing Company (which includes Steamboat Springs and Sunday River in Maine. In 1997 alone, this firm also bought Heavenly at Lake Tahoe and Wolf Mountain -- now called The Canyons -- in Utah). The CEO of American Skiing is Les Otten, son of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. The CEO of Vail Resorts is Adam Aron. [GONZALEZ, E., 1999, p. 1G] The (Jewish) Crown family also own Colorado's Aspen Skiing resort company. "Aspen [Colorado] is the Crown's playground," notes Chicago magazine, "Lester and at least three of his children own homes there, and family members are on the boards of the Aspen Foundation and Aspen Institute." [LALICH, p. 50]


Above text from:

WHEN VICTIMS RULE. A CRITIQUE OF JEWISH PRE-EMINENCE IN AMERICA
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[Is the following article about Sports and Media, or really about the Jewish power network? (Note again that all 4 major professional sports commissioners are also Jewish: Tagliabue -- football, Stern -- basketball, Selig -- baseball, and Bettmann -- hockey.]
ABC Hopes NBA Can Rebuild Momentum,
by Rudy Martzke, USA TODAY, June 6, 2003, p. 2C [paper version]
"The NBA Finals hardly seem to be capturing the public's imagination ... "Im sure ABC and ESPN are worried,' says Larry Novenstern, whose Deutsch Inc. ad agency represents NBA sponsors Mitsubishi and Expedia.com ... ESPN/ABC offered make-good ads starting in Game 1 of the Finals, Novenstern said. TNT, with playoff ratings up 28%, does not have to, President David Levy said ... NBA Commissioner David Stern told the Mike and the Mad Dog Show this week on New York's WFAN radio, "You are absolutely right. Fewer people will watch on a cable network than on a broadcast channel ..." ABC's vice president Mark Mandel and ESPN programming production chief Mark Shapiro are upbeat ... ESPN is close to signing former UCLA coach Steve Lavin as a basketball analyst."

[The owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jeff Lurie, is Jewish]
Cataldi to return tomorrow - without apology,
By Larry Eichel, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23, 2003
"The agent for talk radio host Angelo Cataldi said yesterday that his client has no intention of apologizing for remarks that got him suspended without pay for two days from the morning show on WIP-AM (610). Cataldi was taken off the air as a result of his July 15 comments about the Eagles' ban on outside food at Lincoln Financial Field - a ban the team described as a security measure. The often-combative radio personality reportedly said that if the Eagles were given the opportunity to choose the security guards, he expected them to be wearing swastikas on their arms. A WIP source said Cataldi has been directed by management to apologize. His agent, Steve Mountain, said yesterday: "In the context of talk radio, and recognizing that the station and its shows create ratings through controversy, it is not Angelo's opinion or mine that he did anything inappropriate. Therefore, an apology is not warranted." A spokeswoman for Infinity Broadcasting, a subsidiary of CBS, said she expected Cataldi to be back on the air tomorrow morning. How Cataldi's unwillingness to apologize might affect that timetable was not immediately clear. Mountain said Cataldi also intends to file a grievance against the station, under the procedures laid out in the station's contract with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The issue in the grievance is expected to be the line between personal attacks and legitimate criticism in the outspoken setting of talk radio. Cataldi, who is a former Inquirer sportswriter, was unavailable for comment. As for the Eagles, team president Joe Banner said the team was not responsible for the radio host's suspension. "The station, as they would be happy to tell you, took action based on their policies," Banner said during a news conference held to showcase the new stadium. "CBS has very specific policies - WIP, CBS and the parent company, Viacom." Later, in a conversation with reporters, Banner said it "wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that we weren't thrilled" by Cataldi's remarks. Asked whether the team had communicated its displeasure directly or indirectly to anyone at CBS, Banner said he would not discuss the matter in any more detail. Last week, on Cataldi's show and in other media outlets, both electronic and print, the Eagles were subjected to considerable criticism and some ridicule over the new ban on outside food. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie yesterday repeated the team's position that the food policy was based on the advice of security experts, adding that "our preference always is to satisfy the fans."

Whining and complaining will go on, as will talk radio,
By Phil Sheridan, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23, 2003
"Angelo Cataldi got a raw deal, and here's why. The people he works for have long been willing to profit off his act, which you are free to listen to every morning on WIP-AM (610). Now the people he works for have suspended him for his act. This is a little like those people who own a vicious pit bull and then act shocked when the thing bites someone they like. The pressing question is how Cataldi will respond to his two-day suspension. He can go one of three ways. If he is anything like the uncompromising champion of truth and free speech that he says he is, he has little choice but to resign in protest. If he is as beholden to the big paycheck he gets as most of us would be, then he has to say he's sorry, go back to work, and try to walk the line drawn by his bosses. The third thing is the most likely: He will blame the Eagles, the subject of the rant that got him suspended, and try to paint himself as some sort of journalism martyr. If you tuned in to the station at all yesterday, you could hear Cataldi's colleagues beating that drum. It is a copout, something a guy who shouts about "accountability" all the time really shouldn't resort to using. Did the Eagles complain to WIP management about Cataldi's remarks? Almost certainly. Why wouldn't they? ... [H]e's been suspended for comments he made last week about the Eagles' decision to ban outside food from the new stadium. The camel's back snapped when he compared the Eagles to Nazis. It wasn't a smart comment, but Cataldi has no record of anti-Semitism or other sorts of intolerance. This was his usual bombastic overstatement and nothing more."

[Jews from around the world are buying up Great Britain's sports teams:]
US tycoon expected to emerge as Man Utd bidder,
By Katherine Griffiths, The Independent (UK), December 1, 2003
"The American tycoon Malcolm Glazer is expected to be unmasked today as the investor who snapped up a 4.5 per cent stake in Manchester United on Friday. Mr Glazer, who has a reputation as a highly secretive businessman, has not made clear his intentions towards the Premier League club, despite meeting David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United, in the United States within the past two weeks. But there is intense speculation that shares bought at the end of last week, which would have taken Mr Glazer's stake to just below 15 per cent, were in preparation for a bid for the company at about 300p a share ... If the wealthy American, who owns the Florida football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, does decide to bid, he would have to win the backing of Irish racehorse owners JP McManus and John Magnier. The two are Manchester United's largest shareholders, with 23 per cent between them. While Mr McManus and Mr Magnier were thought at one stage to want to take control of the board themselves, they are now considered to be willing to sell their share ... Manchester United shares have shot up in the past few months on expectations that the team would, like its rival Chelsea, be taken private by a wealthy businessman. Chelsea was bought by the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in July."

Super Jew: Patriots' owner backs football in Israel - for women,
By Elli Wohlgelernter, Chicago Jewish News
"Large numbers of Israelis watched the Super Bowl, cheering on the victorious New England Patriots and their philanthropic-minded owner, Robert Kraft. A few weeks later, they'll be cheering on a very different football team backed by Kraft-a team of young women, many of them Orthodox Jews. Kraft does business in Israel, operating the country's largest packaging plant, Carmel Container Systems in Caesarea. And along with his wife Myra, Kraft has helped develop a sister-city relationship between his hometown of Boston and Haifa, assisting in the absorption of Haifa's Ethiopian community. But Kraft has done something even more unusual, blending his love of Israel with his passion for football by sinking $250,000 into the Kraft Family Stadium. Located at the north end of Sachar Park near the entrance to Jerusalem, the stadium has served for four years as a center for sports in the Israeli capital, hosting youth soccer and softball groups, little league baseball and a hugely successful men's flag football league. Now the stadium is also home to something new: Israel's only women's football team. "When we first met with the Kraft family, Myra was quite interested and insistent that we do something about women's sports," said Steve Leibowitz, stadium director and president of American Football in Israel, which runs the men's league."

The Yada, Yada, Yada Blog,
Yada Yada Yada Blog
"The New York Post reports that New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner was seen dining with New York's Jewish mayor Michael Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at upscale kosher steakhouse Prime Grill in Manhattan discussing the potential of serving kosher food at Nets games. ... Overscene: [Atlanta] Falcon's owner Arthur Blank was mingling under a big white tent at the opening night gala of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival."

[Jewish dominance of the business side of professional sports, here. Malcolm Glazer is indeed Jewish. JTR Contributor's comment: "The article below concerns the potential take-over of arguably the wealthiest sports franschise in the world, Manchester United Football [soccer] Club. The person in question, Malcom Glazer, undoubtedly Jewish, is current owner of the former superbowl champions, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, and came close to purchasing the Major League baseball franshise, the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is also currently the second largest share holder in Manchester United, which is part of the reason why speculation has been mounting in the last year that he is considering a take-over bid. Well, the speculation has not died down at all as both he and the largest shareholders in the club -- John Magnier and JP McManus -- have continued to increase their shares. To put this all in perspective, Manchester United has an annual income of around 240 millions dollars American. It has the largest fan base in the world -- the clubs' estimate is in the multi-million range (I'm heard it been put at, 50 million) with supporter clubs in every end of the globe. It is wealthy beyond imagination and is constantly enlarging its market, as evidence in its recent strides into China, and its existing fanatical following in other parts of the far-east such as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia and throughout the UK and Ireland. So, for someone like Glazer to be even comtemplate the possibility of buying a club the size of Manchester United means he must have deep pockets. Even the billionaire Russian Jew, Roman Abramovitz, who recently purchased for around 140 million pounds another wealthy (English based) football club (Chelsea), had apparently turned down the option of purchasing Man. United because he thought it was ' too expensive'. The other interesting thing is, of course, the increasing number of Jewish owners or CEOs in English football. I already mentioned Ambramovitz, who has already spent in the area of 120 million pounds on player-purchases (leaving aside the exorbitant salaries he's paying the players). There is also David Levy, who is CEO at Tottemham FC, which was ranked the 16th richest football club in the world in 2001, with an annual income of around 108.5 million US. David Dein of Arsenal, which was ranked 10th in the world in the same year (151.9 million US). Then there was former Charman of Manchester City club, David Berstein, which although not in the top 20 of world football clubs, is a fairly well supporter team in England (definitely in the top 20 in terms of wealth). I imagine there is endless lists of teams that Jews either own or have a financial stake in. I hope to look into the issue further when I have the time. (For the listing of the incomes of the top richest clubs in the World: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=269268&cc=5901)]
Glazer keeps Man Utd options open,
BBC News (UK), February 16, 2004
"US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has said he may make a bid for Manchester United, but added he may decide to sell his shareholding instead. Speculation Mr Glazer was preparing an offer grew last week after he raised his stake in the club to 16.31%. Press reports also said that he had instructed Commerzbank to explore a takeover bid. But in a statement to the London Stock Exchange Mr Glazer said no financial adviser had been appointed. Shares in Manchester United fell 9.5 pence, or 3.4%, to 270p in early Monday trade, following the release of Mr Glazer's statement. Will he or won't he? The statement said the Malcolm Glazer Family Partnership had bought shares in Manchester United "because it has great admiration for Manchester United's rich history, loyal fans, great players, outstanding managers, winning tradition and for investment purposes' ... On Friday, shares in Manchester United jumped 5% as talk of a takeover bid from Mr Glazer grew. On Thursday, Mr Glazer had bought 5.4 million shares in the Premiership club. The move came just a day after the investment vehicle for Irish businessmen John Magnier and JP McManus had lifted its stake to 28.89%, just below the level which would automatically trigger a full-scale bid. The Irish pair have been involved in a row with Manchester United's board over the way the club has acted in recent transfer deals."

[Behold: His Holiness, the Sultan of Baseball, who alone decides what's best for the professional game. Folks, that's power. Note: the commissioners of professional baseball, football (Paul Tagliabue), basketball (David Stern), and hockey (Gary Bettman) are ALL Jewish.]
Selig OKs Trade of A-Rod to Yankees,
Earthlink (from Associated Press), Feb. 15, 2004
"It's a done deal: Alex Rodriguez is a Yankee. Commissioner Bud Selig approved the record-setting swap Monday, allowing the reigning American League MVP to be traded to New York by the Texas Rangers ... "I am very concerned about the large amount of cash consideration involved in the transaction, and the length of time over which the cash is being paid," Selig said. "I want to make it abundantly clear to all clubs that I will not allow cash transfers of this magnitude to become the norm. However, given the unique circumstances, including the size, length and complexity of Mr. Rodriguez's contract and the quality of the talent moving in both directions, I have decided to approve the transaction"

[JTR contributor's comment: "As Jewish as it gets." Our note: this story refers to the attempted hostile takeover of a major British soccer team by Jewish American mogul Malcolm Glazer, who already controls the Tampa Bay Buccaneers U.S. football team. Jewish domance of the sports business world, here.]
United 'expect unexpected from Glazer. Anti-Malcolm Glazer campaigner Keith Harris has warned the Manchester United board to expect the unexpected from the American in the coming days,
Soccer Net (ESPN), November 15, 2004
"After a fluctuating day on the Stock Market, United's share price was down by just over 2.5% at the close of business, less than had been anticipated following the resignation of Glazer's bankers JP Morgan on Friday evening. It suggests the City thinks Glazer can still generate the funds to complete an ?00million hostile takeover which United's army of fans have vowed to block. Red Devils chief executive David Gill had discussions over future strategy in the matter with finance director Nick Humby - the only two executive members of the board remaining following Friday's dramatic Glazer-inspired coup. One option open to Gill is simply to reinstate commercial director Andy Anson, legal advisor Maurice Watkins and non-executive director Philip Yea, who were all ousted on Friday, although that is a strategy which cannot be contemplated without the prior knowledge that major shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus, who abstained from Friday's vote, would back the club. A more likely scenario is for Gill to ask the Takeover Panel to force the American to `put up or shut up', although he left Old Trafford tonight without demanding such action. Glazer too has remained quiet, although speculation persists that he will use his 28.11% stake in the club to call an extraordinary general meeting at some point in the near future to try and push for board representation. But despite the silence Harris, the former Football League chairman who advised BSkyB over their failed bid for United in 1998, thinks Gill needs to be extremely wary. 'Glazer has been cornered before but come out fighting,' Harris told Sky Sports News. 'He is an unpredictable character, and I think possibly what he is going to do is do something we cannot predict.' Harris is currently working with influential fans' group Shareholders United in trying to build a 25% blocking stake that could not prevent Glazer taking control but would subject him to the type of scrutiny that could deter a takeover attempt ... 'If we could get 25%, it would send out a signal that Manchester United is not for sale,' said Harris. 'We have made significant progress against an ever-changing background, which is not the best way to work. But we don't want this man to come near us."

News from the AJHS Archive of American Jews in Sports,
AJHS Heritage Newsletter, May 2001
Greenberg Award Dinner
"On September 13, 2001, the AJHS Archive of American Jews in Sports will host its First annual Hank Greenberg Sportsmanship Award Dinner at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. The honorees will include Stephen Greenberg, founder of what is now ESPN Classic Sports and son of Hank Greenberg; Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball; Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League and Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer."


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