The USA today link contains the entire email. The email is chock full of his observations and stereotypes, but do you think the email is racist?
Let's also problem solve for the Atlanta Hawks. What should the team do to attract more 35-55 year old white male season ticket holders? What should the team do to increase their merchandise sales?
persimmon / 1331 posts
His email was absolutely racist. A quick Google of the definition of racism: "the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" pretty much describes his email.
He clearly thinks black fans are inferior to white ones and their black fan base is the root of their "problems". He could've skipped all the black stereotyping and just talked about what he did later in the email about getting more fans to wear jerseys, arrive earlier, fan incentives, etc without making it about race at all.
It's fishy to me that he wrote the email 2 years ago and is now bowing out. It gives me the feeling he may be being threatened/pressured by someone saying "I'll leak that email" and so he is being proactive by leaving first and releasing the email himself.
honeydew / 7589 posts
I do think the email was racist.
Racism doesn't automatically mean you hate all people from another race, it means that you generalize, stereotype, and lump together people from a race as being all the same.
That email was FULL of generalizations, stereotyping, and assumptions.
I don't know if it was worth selling over, a simple "I was wrong, I see that now, and I have recognized the racism in myself and am working to overcome it" would have satisfied me.
honeydew / 7589 posts
To illustrate my point, here's a story about my great grandma. 
My best friend is black. One day I was having her over for dinner, and my grandma asked what I was making. I told her I didn't know yet, and she replied "Well you should have watermelon, because black people like that."
My great grandma doesn't hate African Americans. She hugged my friend and welcomed her into her home, and was absolutely kind and respectful to her.
That said, my grandma's comment is still racist. She generalizes, stereotypes, and assumes. When I told her that comment was a generalization and quite racist, she apologized and agreed that she needed to work to overcome her underlying racism.
I'm happy that she understands the problem and wants to overcome it, and I don't hold her background against her, but that doesn't make her comment ok. 
papaya / 10343 posts
So I just skimmed the email and was sort of surprised it wasn't what I thought it would be. He does seem to be trying to solve a problem: How do we make more money? And it seems as though market research has shown that 1) white males between the ages of 35-55 are those most likely to buy season tickets (which makes them more money) and 2) white fans tend to spend more on merchandise than do black fans.
I don't know that it is racist if that is based on actual facts/research? And if those are the facts, it seems like trying to attract those fans that will spend more money is a reasonable business goal.
His theories on white fans being scared of a "too-black" stadium is where things are most sketchy, in my opinion, although again I don't know that he is necessarily incorrect. If anything I feel like he is acknowledging societal racism and saying okay lets work with that (which maybe is wrong).
So I don't know. Honestly the email makes me uncomfortable. It seems like the sorts of things that shouldn't be said. But it also seems like it was written out of a researched desire/plan to make more money and not out of ignorant generalizations/hate. But I just skimmed it so maybe I'm wrong.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
I don't see the email as racist, although a few things discussed in it are offensive. Stepping down and selling his share of the team seems a bit extreme.
Much of what he wrote reminds me of science experiment. Identify an issue, observe it, and share your findings. Wether, what he wrote is all anecdotal or they have market research and tracking details to back it up makes a difference. When he wrote the black fans used to number 70%, and now they are 40%, but to white fans that still feels like 70% sounds anecdotal. However, a coworker asked me once how it feels to be one of few a non-whites at company meetings. He became aware of the demographics in the room when he, white guy, found himself at a primarily non-white table during a development exercise. Who knows if there is a percentage threshold required to have a mixed race crowd?
What I did find offensive was the kiss cam. Maybe I do not know really what the purpose of a kiss cam is- to kiss or just wave. If the kiss cam is strictly for kissing then I do not like that he is upset to see so many displays of black love.
There were two positives in the email. First, he touched on the (maybe white) perception of the arena and area as being unsafe when that is not the case. Second, he recognizes the Hawks fan base that comes to the games are different from other NBA teams. One size does not fit all and any good marketer knows you must be flexible and cater to local needs, wants, and tastes. He looks to want to address the stigma about the area and create an unique plan to maximize the current fans enthusia & spending.
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