Tag: Ted Leonsis

The deal strengthens what is already a …

The deal strengthens what is already a tight relationship between the two sides. Sportradar has worked with the league in varying capacities since 2016. The firm’s backers include a trio of NBA owners—Mark Cuban, Michael Jordan and Ted Leonsis’ Revolution Growth—all of whom invested back in 2015, when Sportradar was a private company. Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, is also a special adviser to the company’s board.

Ted Leonsis, chairman of MSE, sent an …

Ted Leonsis, chairman of MSE, sent an email Monday morning to all of the company’s full-time employees indicating that furloughed employees would be contacted by their managers over the next several hours. The 232 furloughs, which will affect all departments, including sales, marketing, game day operations and community relations, represent more than one-third of the company’s full-time payroll of approximately 600 people.

Sports data provider Sportradar is …

Sports data provider Sportradar is exploring plans to go public, according to two people familiar with the matter. The shift to being publicly traded will probably happen through a blank-check company, a transaction where an already publicly traded company buys a private company as an alternative to the lengthy IPO process.

During a recent interview with former …

During a recent interview with former Wizards TV broadcasters Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier on the “On the Road with Buck and Phil” podcast, Arenas was asked whether he might one day reconcile with the franchise with which he became a star and left a tarnished legacy after a 2009 locker room gun incident convinced owner Ted Leonsis to blow up the team. “It seemed like my legacy died when Abe [Pollin] died,” Arenas, 38, said of the Wizards’ late owner, who signed Arenas to a six-year, $111 million contract in the summer of 2008 and died in November 2009. “I was a Hall of Famer in his eyes. My jersey was in the rafters in his eyes.”

“What happened with me and the …

“What happened with me and the organization at the end, it hurt, but from a business standpoint, it made sense for Ted,” Arenas said. “You have to start over. You have to start fresh. I remember when John Wall came, and I said to him: ‘Listen, I’m not some guy that’s going to sit here and beef with you over this spot. It’s your spot. This is your team. I’m on the outs. I’m going to follow your lead.’ Me and John have been big brother, little brother since then. There’s never been any problems with him.”

So, now that 10 years have passed, has …

So, now that 10 years have passed, has the plan worked as well as Leonsis had hoped? “I thought at the time we were executing a very good strategy of drafting and retaining and keeping our young players together as a core. John was the first pick, Brad [Beal] was third, Otto [Porter Jr.] was third. That seemed to be working,” Leonsis told NBC Sports Washington. “For the most part, it was the right strategy. Injuries have played a very, very big role in the ultimate state of the team. And we’ve lived and learned and we’ve made much bigger investments in our health and wellness programs and training and the like. So, the strategy and the plan is incomplete.”

Several parts of Leonsis’ take there …

Several parts of Leonsis’ take there may jump out. One is the fact he maintains confidence in the original plan, though with language to suggest it requires some flexibility. He also added this, for context: “I’m still convinced that’s the best way to build in the NBA. There are only so many good free agents willing to leave that team and go to another team and put that team over the edge. So, we did the right thing.”