Arthur Blank, Michael Vick and the New York Times
September 6, 2008 at 7:40 pm by Ken Edelstein in NewsJoe Nocera’s column today in the New York Times offers an interesting take on Arthur Blank’s frustrating quest to turn the Falcons into a winning franchise.
Revealing quotes about his relationship with fallen star Michael Vick include:
“In some ways, I would argue that we weren’t close enough to [Vick]. The fact that he had this whole other life in Virginia that we were unaware of. …” His voice trailed off and he shook his head sadly. “We need to understand who the players are running with, and what is going on in their personal lives. A football player or a store manager — it is always better to know what is going on in their lives.”
Full story here.
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September 6th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
The male ego never ceases to amaze, eh?! Or just totally f everything up. Why a man as sensitive and honest as Blank really is (when he says he had no idea that Vick led this whole other life you can believe him; he didn’t have a freakin’ clue) would even WANT to get into the racket of professional football is beyond me. A quiet life giving away billion via the Blank Foundation wasn’t splashy enough I suppose. Pity.
And as an employee for 10 years at Corporate HD, I had countless occasions in which to closely observe the personality, mannerisms, and personnel interactions of Blank in a variety of situations.
But football franchise owner?! Save that for the Marge Shots of the world. Blank was just buying himself the totally wrong toy for his personality type. This can happen when trophy wives and cars and houses are just not cutting it I suppose.
Blank’s ego might have been out of control, but he was/is also an inherently honest and deeply sensitive man. Blank should have been a shrink with a bow tie maybe, but den mother to a crew of thugs and concussion-addled brutes and vermin? Just a really bad fit any way you toss a ball up and down the fake grass.
September 6th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Your link to the NYT is non-functional.
September 6th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Reid,
Thanks for the heads up. The link has been fixed.
September 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
If this were Jerry Jones instead of Arthur Blank, there would have been a totally different outcome.