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March 29, 2010
Nets Executive Has New Take on Brown Bagger
Off the Dribble [NYTimes NBA Blog]
by Ken Belson
Any excuse for The Times to give ink to the woeful Nets and their self-promoting promoter-in-chief.
In the long, strange trip known as the Nets’ 2009-2010 season, Tuesday may turn out to be a red-letter day on the weirdness calendar.
Brett Yormark, the team’s chief executive, will host a Brown Bag Lunch Summit where he hopes to have “a constructive discussion about the future of the Nets” with Chris Lisi.
...Lisi made news when he wore a brown bag over his head during a Nets game against the Miami Heat last Monday. Yormark, whose team has just nine wins this season, lost his cool and started shouting at Lisi, who was sitting courtside — as a guest of the Nets.
...Now, Yormark hopes to turn Lisi’s frustration into a positive by chatting at the team’s headquarters about where the team is headed. The discussion, which will include radio broadcasters Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw, will be streamed live on the Nets’ Web site.
Some fans, though, think Yormark is pushing the whole brown bag thing too far. Why, they say, should he look to Lisi for advice about the Nets when there are hundreds of season ticket holders who would happily share their thoughts?
NoLandGrab: Why? Because Yormark is catering to the "casual fan" and the news media — not loyal (and long-suffering) season ticket holders
Additional coverage...
AP via The Star-Ledger, Nets CEO Brett Yormark to have lunch with brown bag-wearing fan
Yormark defended his actions the next day, saying he was standing up for his team, which is 9-64 and needs one win in its last nine games to avoid matching the NBA record for fewest wins.
Posted by eric at March 29, 2010 9:35 PM