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June 14, 2007
Bobcats invited 'good corporate citizens' scrutiny
I hope Sam Vincent knows what he’s doing. Vincent, the Charlotte Bobcats’ new head coach, hired Paul Mokeski as an assistant, in charge of the big men. Six years ago, Mokeski pleaded no-contest to a misdemeanor cocaine-possession charge in Wisconsin. That misdemeanor wouldn’t be such a big deal had Bob Johnson not taken a long walk off a limb in 2003. Johnson, majority owner of the Bobcats, promised several thousand Charlotteans that his franchise would never "embarrass’’ this town. I followed up on that comment, and Johnson kept talking about how fans won’t tolerate bad-boy behavior and how the Bobcats’ brand - "good corporate citizens’’ - trumped everything. So now, every time someone in that organization slips up, the Bobcats face a higher level of scrutiny because Johnson asked for it. Vincent knew all that when he took the risk of hiring Mokeski. He must be awfully confident Mokeski has learned from his mistake, because if Mokeski even jaywalks, the Bobcats are in for huge criticism.
Posted by rbonnell on June 14, 2007 at 09:31 PM | Permalink
Comments
Hey, I'm all for keeping good citizens, but at least this guy's primary qualification for his job isn't "once shared a sleeping bag with Michael Jordan."
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 15, 2007 12:24:19 AM
Good point, the Jordan hires are getting a bit ridiculous. Let's give this guy a chance.
Posted by: bobcat matt | Jun 15, 2007 8:38:21 AM
Like everyone else in Charlotte I've never done anything wrong in my entire life. I say we crucify Mokeski before he has a chance to shame us by getting a speeding ticket.
Posted by: yep | Jun 15, 2007 9:01:20 AM
Rick, I wasn't aware of Mo's past trangressions when I worked with him in the past... but he was one of the nicest people I've met in my life and he worked hard too... everyone makes mistakes.
Posted by: Second Chance | Jun 15, 2007 9:52:05 AM
no mention of phil ford's two dwi's in 3 years when discussing 'good corporate citizens?'
Posted by: ryan | Jun 15, 2007 10:21:35 AM
It has been six years and he has not had any problems since then. The man deserves a second chance. His experiences could be a positive. He must realize that one slipup (dui, drugs, et al) mean immediate dismissal even if only charged.
Posted by: john | Jun 15, 2007 11:09:17 AM
The media blows these things out of proportion. "Good citizens" make mistakes all the time. I agree that Johnson raised the bar, but just because someone has a mistake in the past does not mean he is doomed to repeat.
BTW, to even joke about jaywalking causing a stir is borderline irresponsible. I've come to expect more out of you Rick.
Posted by: kirk | Jun 15, 2007 11:39:34 AM
Boob Johnson's eye sight is getting bad as well as his memory. Some of the other guys from his hood have informed him that he hired a white man (Buzz Peterson). Boob is very upset that no one from his high level organization had informed him that Buzz was white, Boob thought Buzz was a light skinned black man. Boob didn't realize Buzz was from the beach. That would explain the tan. The joke is on you Boob BET (BlackEveryTime) Johnson. Bring back the Charlotte Hornets........GO PANTHERS........
Posted by: kevin | Jun 15, 2007 12:43:42 PM
There is certainly a broader definition of "good corporate citizen" that is not being addressed here. The only thing Johnson has done for Charlotte is bring the "Jumper Classic" here. Nice charity event and a chance for daddy's little girl to ride her pony. At least Shin opened a homeless shelter and gave out shoes and Turkeys to the poor and homeless.
Posted by: JeffLamp | Jun 15, 2007 3:47:20 PM
I agree that people should be granted a 2nd chance, and also you can't allow the media to have you build negative thoughts about a person or organization from a few slips here and there. It'll take more than one man, Bob Johnson, to turn things around for this city. My advice to everyone is to just sit tight, wait until they make the playoffs (which should be next season) and then watch for all the "positive" media coverage to start rolling in....
Posted by: Will | Jun 15, 2007 4:51:10 PM
The Bobcats are a joke, but Bob is taking the taxpayers of Charlotte for everything he can get before he bails out of town. I can't wait to see "Bobcat Den" go down like the late "Hive".
Posted by: Larry | Jun 15, 2007 5:30:57 PM
Ok let me get this straight. The press is having a field day about a man getting into trouble 7 years ago? And yes i know he plead guilty to this charge six years ago but the actual offense happened in June of 2000. I see nothing about him being in any trouble before that. I see nothing about him having any problems since then. Is this really a problem? Yes i know about Mr.Johnson's statements in the past, but unless your planning to hire people right out of seminary school to be part of the orginization, i don't see any conflict in the Bobcats organization giving this man who made one mistake 7 years ago a chance to prove his worth. Once again the mentality that a person is guilty until proven innocent has raised it's ugly head. I seem to remember that in America it's suppose to be the other way around.
Posted by: Steve H. | Jun 15, 2007 5:53:26 PM
Of course the Observer is going to jump on a negative article about the Bobcats. I understand "fair" reporting but this is not the case. It happened 7 years ago! I can understand if he was a repeat offender but you are basically saying he doesn't deserve a second chance. Do you not believe in redemption? Yeah JB Bickerstaff had a DUI last year but you don't see him on this year's coaching staff do you? It's a shame that we have nothing but douchebags writing for the Observer. The Gaston Gazette does a better job reporting on teams in this region.
Posted by: DS | Jun 15, 2007 6:57:54 PM
I heard SOUL TRAIN wants to have their name on the 3rd charlotte coliseum played in by the BlackCats/CrackHead Coaches
Posted by: John | Jun 15, 2007 11:32:38 PM
Oh, Rick...
The Bobcats invited criticism when their higher-ups set to bring a professional basketball team back to an ungrateful city that had just run one team off. All you and the other Observer guys do is criticize, criticize, criticize.
Oh, and since I never got to comment on your last blog, about how "being Jordan's friend might get you a job with the Bobcats." Here's a title for you: "Being a constant complainer might get you posting a Jordan interview from a Philly paper because you've whined and moaned about our team and Jordan won't even give a personal interview to our local paper because of it."
Posted by: Will | Jun 16, 2007 12:13:39 AM
I love how the folks on the Bobcats payroll have now jumped on the Bonnell Blog. Worried about your jobs AKA the Matt Devlin/Tapscott/Weiler treatment? Don't get too cozy over at the Bobcats Arena. Will, Jordan is not a Charlotte resident....why would he give an interview to the Charlotte paper? Read the Charlotte Observer today about why the NBA is sinking faster than a lead basketball. Nobody knows these guys and they don't represent our lifestyle. The young NBA stars have absolutely no connection to 95% of the people paying the bills for the tickets, the suites and the sponsorships. We don't want our kids to act like the players and many of us, quite frankly, don't feel comfortable with the overall Bobcats Arena atmosphere. That's why no company has stepped up for naming rights...and that's why the Bobcats franchise is worth less today than when Bob Johnson bought it. And, it will probably be worth less next year than this year. Let the kids stay in college 3-4 years and become men before they get to the NBA.
Posted by: Randy | Jun 18, 2007 8:25:08 AM
I agree Randy who wants their kids to grow up to be a thug like a nba player. The NBA reached it's peak in the 80's and has went south ever since. I don't think I could even name 10 players who play. I used to attend all of the hornet games driving over 1 hour each way. I have no desire to participate in anyway with the bobcats. I would not come to a game if Bob and Michael and Vincent and the druggie assistant coach or any other of mike's friends gave me a free ticket to the best seat there. Say what you will about George Shinn but he did care about Charlotte and he did spend money to have a winning team. Yes he asked for help with a new arena. The city said no because of his legal problems that he was found not guilty of. Then after the city ran him and our beloved Charlotte Hornets out of town they gave away all of the city's money to a man who is not even from the area who only supports black people. George Shinn hired Gene Littles, Paul Silias, and now coaching the hornets is Byron Scott, all three a different color than George. Does Bob even have 3 white people working for him? He doesn't live here, doesn't pay taxes here and really does not give a crap about Charlotte. Picking him to head up the new Charlotte team is another example of poor decision making on the part of the nba. How big is Bob's ego that he has to name the bobcats after bob. He and this organization has will continue to be a joke until it closes down business like the Charlotte Sting.
Posted by: former hornet season ticket holder | Jun 18, 2007 11:56:45 AM
Why are the Observer editors & staff posting comments on their own blogs? Are internet clicks & subscriptions that low. Gaston Gazette is the better newspaper anyway.
Posted by: bobcatfan4ever | Jun 18, 2007 12:11:51 PM
Well go read the gaston gazette. I actually use it in my bathroom to wipe my backside when I run low of paper.
Posted by: whatever | Jun 18, 2007 1:05:13 PM
"huge criticism"??!! jeez stop it Bonell please just go away....
Posted by: Bobcat Gamer | Jun 18, 2007 1:17:09 PM
Sounds like we got a lot of David Stern fans on the blog. Dress Iverson up in a suit, condemn the culture that Stern rebuilt the league on (hip-hop), and point out that it's mostly white people who can afford the tickets. If you guys want to see slow, mianstream rubber stamped and applauded basketball, subsribe to ESPNFullCourt and watch all the Ivy league games you want. I want to see good baksetball. I want to see players passion come out with out getting a technical foul or being labeled as a "thug". I want to see ticket prices go down so that the millions of people that love the game and its players can attend, not just the holier than thou corporate managers who think that everyone should be just as void of critical ideas as they are. I'm not a fan of hip-hop exploiting Bob Johnson or sweatshop Jordan myself, but I'll defend them against the small minded racist attacks that some of you think pass as "thoughtful" reactions on this blog.
Beyond belief is how someone can actually harken back to the days of George Shinn as the owner as a good thing? Remember, the main reason he took the team to N.O. was because he couldn't get taxpayer money here for a stadium with more luxury boxes. Yeah, he really cared about the community. Does anyone recall him releasing Muggsy and Dell without so much as an explanation? The sexual-harrassment charges? If there is any reason why Johnson has set the bar so high for the Bobcats public relations it's because of how low Shinn went.
Of course, this doesn't justify Johnson taking tax-payer money to build his stadium, but I must say it makes it a lot easier to support the team when I hear such ignorant, empty-headed critiques from Bobcats "fans".
Posted by: BustaCat | Jun 18, 2007 3:45:12 PM
BustaCat, I don't recall big black bob releasing reasons he keeps releasing white people from his inner city bunch of losers. George Shinn did support the community with homeless shelters, he also paid taxes. The only reason Boob Johnson came to charlotte was because the city agreed to build him another charlotte coliseum with tax payer money. He doesn't live here or support anything in this community except minority owned real estate companies and the like. I don't think he could see out the 3rd charlotte coliseum even if he gave tickets away, oh yeah he has already tried that. HA HA BUNCH OF LOSERS
Posted by: former season ticket holder | Jun 18, 2007 5:11:44 PM
I tried to stay away from this blog but I feel like I need to throw in my two cents. Randy, do you think that Lowe's Home Improvement cares about the fights, harassment, and drunken debauchery that happens at CMS every May and October? Absolutely not. Just like every business in America, they care about money, and rightfully so. That is the reason why nobody has bought the rights to the arena yet. It's not worth it right now. I love NASCAR and football, always have, but the atmosphere (From a safety standpoint!) at said sporting events is nowhere close to the atmosphere that you will find at a B Cats game. While I agree that this franchise has gotten off on the wrong foot on different levels with different people, the bottom line is still the same. We have professional basketball in our city again guys. Personally, I cannot relate to the kids' point of view because I do not have any. However, I know that if I did have them, I'd want my kids to watch a group of guys who are busting their ass day in and day out to try and win for this city. Those men are the Charlotte Bobcats. Look at the bright side, if you really want to see an indoor sport you can always head up the interstate, I hear the NHL is looking for some more fans...
Posted by: Edrow | Jun 18, 2007 7:05:32 PM
Rick,
you're 100% correct. How dare the bcats give this guy a chance - after a mistake made seven years ago.
Seriously, once the team starts winning, the fans show up to pack the building for an exciting playoff run, and goodwill abounds for the Bobcats... some of us will remember that the Observer spent 90% of the first three years bitching & moaning about EVERYTHING. The Mokeski blog offering really says it all, and trust me, I'm no big fan of the NBA.
Posted by: Wilson | Jun 18, 2007 9:54:46 PM
I would like to ask my brother bob johnson for a job for myself and the rev. al sharpton. I feel like we can both bring a lot to the table. We neither one have plead guilty to possession or intent to sell cocaine. I hope this fact will enable us to be a high ranking official with your organization. I have never worked a day in my life, however I feel that I am ready to make a change.
Posted by: JesseeJackson | Jun 18, 2007 11:14:32 PM
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