Worst Owner in Sports

[gd]

Simple, who do you think is the worst owner in pro sports at the moment. Use any criteria you like.

I'm going with Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA for a few reasons. First of all, their team stinks. He either hasn't been willing to spend money or has spent it stupidly. He has also kept the inept Mike Dunleavy as both coach and GM for much longer than any sane person would.

Secondly, he's a racist. He's been accused of housing discrimation against Hispanics and blacks saying things such as "black tenants smell and attract vermin." He recently settled a near $3 million dollar lawsuit for that.

He also promised to build a center for the homeless in LA about 4 years ago, yet has made no effort to start building such a facility.

So, he's a horrible owner whose team has like 1 winning season in the last 200 years and he' also an awful human being. I'd say that makes him a pretty bad owner.

What's your choice and why?

 

[Big Sexy]

I was going to go with Donald Sterling when I first saw the thread, but since you already talked about him I'll go with my number two and that is Al Davis.

Al Davis used to be one of the best owners in any sport. For about a 20 year period from the mid 60s to mid 80's, Davis and the Raiders went to the playoffs 15 times, won their division 13 times, and won 3 Super Bowls. He was also the first owner to hire a Latino head coach and the second owner to hire a black head coach. However, it is now clear that the game has passed him by.

Davis has hired 6 different Head Coaches in the last 9 seasons. Gruden was fired after being knocked out of the 2001 playoffs in the "tuck rule" game. Bill Callahan took them to the Super Bowl in 2002, but after a losing season in 2003 he was gone. Norv Turner was next and he was gone after 2 losing seasons. Art Shell was hired in 2006 and fired after one 2-14 year. Lane Kiffin was next and he lasted a season and a half. Now they have Tom Cable who is in his first full year as Head Coach.

Not only can he not find a good coach (or at least give one more then a year or two to turn the team around) he has also made some horrible personnel moves. The man is way too infatuated with speed and he believes that any player who has had previous success will be able to succeed no matter what talent is around them.

Some notable moves are bringing in guys like Rand Moss and Javon Walker. Both had success before joining the Raiders (Moss obviously being a future hall of famer), but when you have guys like Kerry Collins and Andrew Walter throwing you the ball it doesn't matter how good you are. Anther horrible signing was Deangelo Hall. A disgruntled former top 10 pick who has great speed, but very little coverage skills.

Then let's go to his draft picks. Of his last 10 first round picks, only two have been any good. Michael Huff has been fairly good at safety and Nnamdi Asomugha is one of the better corners in the NFL. Then there are two picks that you might be able to give him a pass on because they were seen as almost can't miss prospects. Those two being Robert Gallery and Darren McFadden. The other 6 picks were just horrible.

In 2000 he drafted Sebastion Janikowski in the first round. Janikowski has a big leg and has had a solid career, BUT HE IS A FUCKING KICKER. There is no excuse for any team to ever take a kicker in the first round. In 2001 he selected DB Derrick Gibson. Gibson lasted 5 years in the NFL and had only 3 career interceptions. In 2002 he took another DB Phillip Buchanon who again has amazing speed, but he has proven to be nothing more then a nickel corner. He finally got it right in 2003 by taking his third straight DB in Asomugha. 2004 was Gallery who has been a bust. 2005 he went back to taking DB's with speed when he drafted Fabian Washington. A lot like Buchanon, Washington is no better then a nickel corner. 2006 was his 5th DB taken in the first round in 6 years, but again Huff has been good so it's ok. 2007 might be his worst pick ever. Jamarcus Russel has been a COMPLETE bust. Al Davis was infatuated with Russel during his workout, but you don't win football games with good workouts. 2008 was McFadden, then this past year Davis took WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Again great speed, but he was projected as a mid first rounder at best and Davis took him with the 7th pick. I know he's only a rookie but he has just 9 catches for 124 yards and 1 td this season.

Al Davis went from a tremendous owner and a Hall of Famer, to one of the worst owners in sports. The game has passed him by.

 

[NSL]

David Glass, the owner of the Kansas City Royals. He's loaded with cash, and the team receives a ton of money through revenue sharing, and they continue to get worse and worse.

Look at the moves the team has made to "save money". They've dumped a potential outfield of Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran, and Jermaine Dye, and found ways to ruin their young pitchers within the system. The team has no signs of turning it around, and I'd bet that Greinke will be gone by season's end...

 

[Brilliant Human Being]

I'm going with George Gillett and Tom Hicks for this one.

For those who don't know, these two own Liverpool FC, one of the most successful teams in British football history. When they took over, it was heralded as a new beginning for Liverpool, ending a wait of more than 20 years for a Premiership title, and promising to build a new stadium. This was two years ago. Now, Liverpool are £250 million in debt, with no new stadium on the horizon. The two Americans have been at loggerheads with each other, with Hicks having calmined to have sold his shares when he actually hadn't, and the supporters are getting sick of it.

 

[Dave]

I have to go with an extremely unknown choice and I will be legitimately surprised if anyone manages to know who I am talking about.

However, I think that Brooks Mileson is by far the worst owner in football, if not all of sports. The story of Brooks is quite a tragic one too. He bought a little know football club called Gretna. Gretna is a tiny town and upon buying the club, Mileson took Gretna to an unprecedented run of results after ploughing millions of pounds into the club. Gretna quickly moved up the leagues and were eventually known as the fairytale of Scottish Football. However, after a few season, Mileson could no longer put the ssame finances into the club as he once did and it began to take it's toll. Soon, players were not getting paid and the manager who had gotten them to their highest place in football ever, had been sacked and was embroiled with a legal dispute with the club. Mileson drew everything out of the club and they were liquidated. They no longer exist as a football club and I think it is in part due to Mileson.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

A part of me would like to say Wayne Huizenga. He was really clueless during his entire time as owner of the Miami Dolphins (he still owns 5% of the team) and then he goes and sells remaining stake of the team to Stephen Ross. Now Ross has turned the Dolphins into a celebrity bonaza because there are plenty of them who own small stakes with the team. But I'll give him a pass, seeing as how he did bring hockey and baseball to south Florida....although he was behind the rape of the Marlins roster after the 1997 World Series.

Anyway, my pick will have to be Daniel Snyder. This guy spends money by the truck-load nearly every off-season, and the Redskins NEVER have anything to show for it. Let's not forget the 25 million he dished out for Spurrier. That worked out so well, seeing as he resigned with three years left on his contract!

 

[LamaNamaneumi]

William Clay Ford Sr. gets my vote. He is the owner of the Detroit Lions, the worst NFL team. The teams record under Ford 281-374-13 that's a .411 winning%.
The Detroit Lions hold the 2nd longest losing streak at 19 games, and how can we forget last years record of 0-16. The team has qualified for the playoffs only nine times in more than 50 years.
At least Al Davis knew about football at one point the game has just passed him by , Ford is just a rich guy from Detroit who wanted somthing to do with his money.

 

[Big Sexy]

William Clay Ford Sr. gets my vote. He is the owner of the Detroit Lions, the worst NFL team. The teams record under Ford 281-374-13 that's a .411 winning%.
The Detroit Lions hold the 2nd longest losing streak at 19 games, and how can we forget last years record of 0-16. The team has qualified for the playoffs only nine times in more than 50 years.
At least Al Davis knew about football at one point the game has just passed him by , Ford is just a rich guy from Detroit who wanted somthing to do with his money.

Up until the last few years I would have agreed with you. However, RIGHT NOW I think that Davis has surpassed Ford. In the last couple years Ford has started to give his son more of the ownership duties and because of that we no longer have Matt Millen as our GM. Al Davis just refuses to accept the fact that he has no clue what he's doing.