In response to Aubrey McClendon's comments to an Oklahoma paper, Clay Bennett issued the following statement today:
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"As the controlling owner, I admire my fellow owners and appreciate their support. While they are excited about the basketball operations and the future of the team on the court, they, like me, have been disheartened by the lack of progress we have made to secure a new arena for the Sonics and Storm. Aubrey expressed his personal thoughts and, in context of the story, was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group. It is my hope we will see a breakthrough in the next 60 days that will result in securing a new arena for the Soncis and Storm in the Greater Seattle area."
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So, when McClendon said that "We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come [to Oklahoma City]," he's completely on his own? He never had any conversation with Clay Bennett about that? Really?
Monday, August 13
What Can We Do?
Undoubtedly, there are many out there who look at this whole Bennett-McClendon-Carpetbagger scenario and just throw up their hands in dismay. The folks who never really liked basketball to begin with, or pro sports at all, they could care less, and this situation just confirms their pre-existing beliefs.
But for the rest of us, the obvious question is this: What do we do now? There are a number of practical answers:
1. Support A Deal is a Deal. Brian Robinson's efforts to force the Sonics/Storm ownership to honor their lease with the city is something everyone can get behind (sorry, was that too homo-erotic for you, Mr. McClendon?). Hate the Sonics' owners? Then stick it to them by forcing them to play basketball in Seattle for 3 more years. Love the Sonics? Then help ensure the team remains here for at least 3 more years. It's win-win. If you don't have any money because you spent it all on that sweet X-Man replice jersey, then volunteer your time/services.
2. Don't buy tickets. This is a tough one. On the one hand, poor attendance hurts Bennett's pocketbook, which is nice. On the other, it makes Seattle look apathetic. Perhaps an alternative is to buy tickets, and then bring your own food to the games. I suggest tomatoes, just in case Bennett makes an appearance.
3. Write to the Mayor. Let Nickels know the pressure is still on he and his associates to force Bennett to honor the lease.
Any other ideas out there? And, no, we're not interested in your plots to injure Bennett & Co. After all, they're much likely better-armed than we are.
But for the rest of us, the obvious question is this: What do we do now? There are a number of practical answers:
1. Support A Deal is a Deal. Brian Robinson's efforts to force the Sonics/Storm ownership to honor their lease with the city is something everyone can get behind (sorry, was that too homo-erotic for you, Mr. McClendon?). Hate the Sonics' owners? Then stick it to them by forcing them to play basketball in Seattle for 3 more years. Love the Sonics? Then help ensure the team remains here for at least 3 more years. It's win-win. If you don't have any money because you spent it all on that sweet X-Man replice jersey, then volunteer your time/services.
2. Don't buy tickets. This is a tough one. On the one hand, poor attendance hurts Bennett's pocketbook, which is nice. On the other, it makes Seattle look apathetic. Perhaps an alternative is to buy tickets, and then bring your own food to the games. I suggest tomatoes, just in case Bennett makes an appearance.
3. Write to the Mayor. Let Nickels know the pressure is still on he and his associates to force Bennett to honor the lease.
Any other ideas out there? And, no, we're not interested in your plots to injure Bennett & Co. After all, they're much likely better-armed than we are.
Take a Letter, Clay
Dear Clay Bennett,
I have never met you personally, so I am hesitant to write this letter because I am making assumptions about someone whose hand I have never shook and whose eyes I have never looked into. That said, I feel confident in saying I have a fairly good impression of you.
I know, for example, that you donate heavily to Republican campaigns, that you associate yourself with people who oppose gay marriage, that you heartily endorse the Bush administration. Knowing these facts, I can deduce that you are a Christian man, and I would imagine that you try to follow the tenets of the Bible in your daily life.
Mr. Bennett, I am also trying to be a Christian man. I know that doing so is a path filled with pitfalls, that there are many missteps we make along the way that leave us ripe for picking by those who do not believe. I understand how difficult it may be to be a 1) public figure and 2) a Christian.
But what I don’t understand is how you look at yourself in the mirror, knowing that you have conned an entire region with your lies. There are many misconceptions of Christianity – people will argue until the end of time about whether Jesus was a fan of gays – but no one argues that telling lies is The Christian Way.
So I ask you: Do you feel guilty about lying to us? Do you say prayers for forgiveness every night for your deceptions? Do you have an anchor of guilt the size of an oil derrick hanging upon your neck because of the way you got the City of Renton so riled up to help you? All that time you wasted in Olympia, all that taxpayer money you frittered away on endless meetings, all those volunteers who gave so much of their time and of their pocketbooks to help your business, all on the precept that you were “committed” to keeping the Sonics in Seattle – do you feel any guilt at all about that?
Mr. Bennett, there are two stories out there right now: The one you have told us for the past year, and the one Aubrey McClendon is telling us now.
Two stories, one truth. Which is yours?
Sincerely,
A Sonic Fan
I have never met you personally, so I am hesitant to write this letter because I am making assumptions about someone whose hand I have never shook and whose eyes I have never looked into. That said, I feel confident in saying I have a fairly good impression of you.
I know, for example, that you donate heavily to Republican campaigns, that you associate yourself with people who oppose gay marriage, that you heartily endorse the Bush administration. Knowing these facts, I can deduce that you are a Christian man, and I would imagine that you try to follow the tenets of the Bible in your daily life.
Mr. Bennett, I am also trying to be a Christian man. I know that doing so is a path filled with pitfalls, that there are many missteps we make along the way that leave us ripe for picking by those who do not believe. I understand how difficult it may be to be a 1) public figure and 2) a Christian.
But what I don’t understand is how you look at yourself in the mirror, knowing that you have conned an entire region with your lies. There are many misconceptions of Christianity – people will argue until the end of time about whether Jesus was a fan of gays – but no one argues that telling lies is The Christian Way.
So I ask you: Do you feel guilty about lying to us? Do you say prayers for forgiveness every night for your deceptions? Do you have an anchor of guilt the size of an oil derrick hanging upon your neck because of the way you got the City of Renton so riled up to help you? All that time you wasted in Olympia, all that taxpayer money you frittered away on endless meetings, all those volunteers who gave so much of their time and of their pocketbooks to help your business, all on the precept that you were “committed” to keeping the Sonics in Seattle – do you feel any guilt at all about that?
Mr. Bennett, there are two stories out there right now: The one you have told us for the past year, and the one Aubrey McClendon is telling us now.
Two stories, one truth. Which is yours?
Sincerely,
A Sonic Fan
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