Is Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson a savvy business man, or nasty racist? These are the polar positions people have taken after reading Levenson’s recent leaked email that included the following:
“I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority” and “I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white cheerleaders and while I don’t care what the color of the artist is, I want the music to be music familiar to a 40 year old white guy if that’s our season [tickets] demo. I have also balked when every fan picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some timeout contest is black. I have even [complained] that the kiss cam is too black.”
The Levenson story makes for a terrific sport sociology case study in many ways. On one hand, some feel as though Levenson’s analysis of the type of fan attending his game is racist, while others — including NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar — see Levenson as simply a business man looking to better understand his target market (in fact, Jabbar was quoted as saying the only thing Levenson is guilty of is “white guilt”).
Psychological angles and perception
It is impossible for us to know the implied message from the Levenson quote, as only he knows the true value and meaning of his words. If you are a successful business person, you will likely look through that prism and see his quote as very normal, and possibly even expected. Levenson wants diversity in his audience, and wants to cater more to his prototype season ticket holder who happens to be a white male in his 40’s. Sports marketing textbooks regularly talk about knowing your target audience, developing your brand, and perpetuating your business. If one group of people is seemingly afraid to attend games, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate why?
If, however, you are a person who has been the victim of discrimination, you might only see that Levenson identified “black people” in the quote and immediately take his words to be racist. The point is that human perception is never the same for any two people, as we all bring our past experiences and personal biases to the table when we analyze situations.
In fact, to prove this point when police officers interview witnesses to a crime, if two witnesses have the same exact story they can almost guarantee that the witnesses talked to get their stories straight. Again, it’s common knowledge we all “see” things differently.
Sports Marketing
We regularly teach students in sports marketing classes to understand their target audience and look at ways to diversify and expand. Levenson’s comments reflect concerns around a lack of diversity as Kareem Abdul Jabbar points out, and unless something more comes out there does not appear to be any signs of discrimination or purposeful tactics to prevent people from attending Hawks games. There are clubs across the country that cater to specific races/cultures, dating sites that are designed for specific groups to use, and countless other business practices that focus on specific demographics. Ironically, Levenson wasn’t trying to limit his audience, but instead expand and diversify it by finding more attractive ways to lure more white fans to games.
Conclusion
No form of racism should be tolerated or encouraged, but there is a very confusing space between racism and business marketing. What one person considers smart business, another person interprets it as blatant racism. There needs to be a place where race, diversity, and other demographic variables can be talked about in frank and honest ways, and not be interpreted so that the person is immediately deemed a racist.
www.drstankovich.com
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ac9PPNtKuQ[/youtube]
