Our Year In Review: A Look Back At Memorable Sports Business Quotes
Our Year In Review: A Look Back At Memorable Sports Business Quotes
They said WHAT? 2019 was chock-full of head-turning quotes from people around sports. From the insightful to the hilarious, SBJ/SBD looks back at the year that was and offers up some of the standout quotes -- for better or worse -- of 2019.
“If you can't get this right, what the hell are we doing trusting your product?”
-- ESPN's Michael Wilbon, on the missed pass interference call late in the NFC Championship.
“We don't particularly embrace games where the objective is to blow your opponent's head off”
-- NCAA President Mark Emmert, on the challenges esports presents.
“We, the Olympic community, collectively failed our athletes”
-- USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland, on the wake of sex abuse scandals that have enveloped USA Gymnastics.
“The media most of the time doesn't have any idea what they're talking about”
-- NFL Giants President & CEO John Mara, during a Town Hall meeting with season-ticker holders.
“I have heard nothing about the White House. We are Canada's team anyway, right?”
-- Raptors coach Nick Nurse, on the NBA champions not receiving an invite to the White House.
“It is a travesty that baseball teams have not stepped up and said, 'You, the fan. You are our No. 1 priority'”
-- ESPN's Jeff Passan, on a lack of protective netting in MLB.
“It's hard to tell your kids to put down the video games when somebody's winning $3 million”
-- ABC's Michael Strahan, on the Fortnite World Cup.
“It's a continuation of this idea that players feel like the fans don't appreciate that they're real people, that they're characters in a TV show on their screen every Sunday”
-- ESPN's Dan Graziano, on NFL players' reaction to Colts fans booing Andrew Luck after hearing news of his plan to retire.
“Ain't no maybe about it, I'm going to do that shit”
-- LeBron James, on his aspirations to own an NBA franchise one day.
“It's a bad look. I don't think baseball should be taking gambling money”
-- Twins P Kyle Gibson, on MLB's partnership with MGM Resorts Int'l.
“I want to go back to having fun. I want to go back to being who I was before taking on this job'”
-- Magic Johnson, on stepping down as Lakers president of basketball operations.
“Our American women kick ass”
-- Fox Sports CEO & Exec Producer Eric Shanks, on the net carrying this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup.
“You're putting him on gratuitously to see if he'll say something stupid so that you can run with it. ... He's got zero relevance. Zero”
-- ESPN's Dan Le Batard, on media companies, including his own, putting LaVar Ball on television.
“I'm down with the boos”
-- USWNT F Megan Rapinoe, after the crowd jeered and began chanting "Equal Pay" toward FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the Women's World Cup trophy celebration.
“If they're not going to play anybody and they're going to play a game on an 80-yard field, then it feels as though it has jumped the shark”
-- ESPN's Mike Greenberg, on the NFL preseason.
“We struck gold. There is no one out there like him”
-- Fox Sports President Mark Silverman, on Urban Meyer as a TV analyst.
“If the California law goes into effect in '23 ... who's going to play (California schools)? We're certainly not”
-- Ohio State AD Gene Smith, on not scheduling games against schools in California if the Fair Pay to Play Bill is signed into law.
“It was a cathartic process to just sit down and say it was the worst 2 months of ownership for me. It was embarrassing for me. We sucked.”
-- Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler, on his thoughts on the team's end to the '19 season.
“You want to hit us in the nose? OK! We'll keep moving. You can't knock us down”
-- Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer, on the legal opposition to his efforts to build the team a new arena in Inglewood.
“I don't know where we go from here. The financial consequences have been and may continue to be fairly dramatic”
-- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, on the fallout from the league's dealings with China after Daryl Morey's tweet.
“They are effectively taking out a gun and shooting 25% of our lower levels. It's not dying. It's homicide”
-- MiLB President Pat O'Connor, on MLB's proposed overhaul of the minor league system.
“It's a little hard for me to applaud people who are forced at knifepoint to make a change”
-- ESPN's Rachel Nichols, on the NCAA's NIL decision only coming after California passed a similar bill.
“If you cut the cord, you can't see any of our game. That's a challenge”
-- Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban, on reasons for the NBA's lower ratings this season.
“I can't get over this NFL Draft. I watched it last night because Taylor Swift was on”
-- CBS' Gayle King, on ABC's coverage of the event.
