Haven't the Dodgers Learned Anything?

Tim Busch has been a practicing attorney in Orange County for the past 35 years and is the founder of The Busch Firm, which specializes in high net-worth estate planning, real estate and business transactions, tax, and Religious Organization representation. Tim is also founder and CEO of Pacific Hospitality Group, LLC a hotel development and management company that owns and manages eight hotels, including the Doubletree Hotel at Irvine Spectrum, the Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County Airport, the Crowne Plaza Resort near Disneyland the Meritage Resort and Spa at Napa, CA, and the Estancia La Jolla, the Balboa Bay Club and Resort in Newport Beach, CA and Bacara in Santa Barbara, CA. His original business is Busch’s Markets, a 15-store specialty grocery store, operating in Southeastern Michigan.

Tim recently wrote a piece for Fox News entitled: “Bud Light, Target, haven’t the Dodgers learned anything? As a sports team owner, I know better.” I am going to publish that in its entirety and then give you my take:

“Will the Los Angeles Dodgers ever be the same? 

I doubt it. One of the most-storied sports brands in history is reeling. It’s the result of management’s foolish decision to invite an anti-Catholic hate group to an LGBT Pride night, then rescind the invitation after criticism from the right, only to re-invite the group after blowback from the left.  

The flip-flopping wasn’t the Dodger’s biggest mistake. The real issue is that the baseball team waded into politics in the first place. 

I say this as a minority owner of two professional sports teams, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom. I encourage anyone in professional sports to avoid any involvement in politics, for the simple reason that sports teams aren’t political groups. We aren’t in the business of taking sides in a cause, telling some people they’re wrong while others are right, and wading into the most divisive issues of the day.

Just the opposite: We’re in the business of business, and we should stay that way. While the teams I co-own don’t always steer clear of politics, my message to the Dodgers and every sports team and business is still simple: This is a losing game that will cost you dearly for decades to come. 

It baffles me that the Dodgers forgot this basic truth. I’m a Californian, so I love the Dodgers as much as anyone else. But my fondness for the team, built over nearly seven decades, never had anything to do with its political stands. I appreciated that the Dodgers built a good team, showed fans a good time and regularly competed for the highest honors in the game.  

That’s the point of a sports team. Score points, please the fans, win trophies. Scoring political points is the last thing a team should ever do. 

Yet that’s exactly what a small but vocal group of activists now wants. They demand that sports teams – and every business, for that matter – pick sides in our country’s culture wars. They want companies to take stands on everything from abortion to marriage to sexuality to changing children’s genders with invasive surgeries. I don’t doubt the sincerity of their beliefs. But I’m deeply confused why so many companies kowtow to these demands. 

Imagine if the Dodgers had never held a Pride night, ever. Would some people have criticized the team? Absolutely. Would some media outlets have taken potshots at the team? Sure. And would some people have even boycotted the Dodgers? Probably.  

But the team wouldn’t be in the pickle it is today. If it had avoided politics, a handful of people would have been upset. Instead, the team jumped in headfirst on one of the most divisive issues. Now legions of fans in the Los Angeles area and beyond are likely to boycott the team, especially in LA’s enormous Catholic community.  

Budweiser learned the same thing when it threw its support behind transgenderism. Bud Light sales have plummeted. But they didn’t have to. All the company had to do was stay silent on something it had no right to talk about. It’s a beer company, for God’s sake, not an arm of the Democratic Party. 

There’s no point enraging your fan base, especially when people can advocate for their favored political positions in the political process. That’s where politics belongs – in the voting booth, in candidate’s campaigns and in the persuasion that happens around kitchen tables and on social media. 

We don’t need it in the dugout, the field, or the boardroom. Fans, sports teams and business leaders have other things to worry about. You know, like supporting the players, strengthening the team, and running a business. 

The Dodgers have learned this lesson the hard way. Here’s my advice to them and every sports team, in every league. Don’t hold Pride night anymore. Don’t hoist a conservative flag on some other issue, either. Just stick to sports, which is the only reason people come to the stadium or turn on the game. If you don’t, a lot of them won’t come back or will change the channel.  

The Dodgers earned what’s coming their way. ” –– Tim Busch, Fox News

I am going to take it a step further. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have no business being at Dodger Stadium, unless they want to pay to see a game, and neither does Black Heritage Night, LGBTQ+ Pride Night, or Christain Faith Day.

The LA Dodgers are a baseball team. They have built a vast number of inner-city baseball diamonds to help disadvantaged inner-city youth have access to baseball. Let’s celebrate that! Let’s celebrate baseball. Religion and politics divide us. Once the Dodgers have embraced any of that… they have lost. Let’s celebrate what joins us together… not what divides us. Rob Manfred started it by moving the All-Star Game from the ATL in what can only be called a Stupid Political Statement. As in Very Stupid!

The Dodgers have a lot to celebrate. They should focus on what brings people together… not what divides us. Baseball should be fun and should provide a release from what divides us. The Los Angeles Dodgers are supposed to be a baseball team, not a political or religious platform.

As a side note: On Monday Night, Clayton Kershaw called a “Player’s Only Meeting” presumably because he was not happy with the Dodger’s decision to have the Dudes of Perpetual Indulgence at Pride Night. Clayton said this: “I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” he said. “It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don’t think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else’s religion. So that’s something that I definitely don’t agree with.”

I agree, but I take it a step further – None of these groups should have a place at the table. Problem solved!

Back to Dodger Baseball

• So much for thinking Alex Vesia got “fixed ” at OKC. Looks like the same old BP pitcher!
• Tony Gonsolin is a very Elite Starter.
• I remember earlier in the season when many here were predicting a decline for JDM. Well, he’s not ready and he has the final say. 11 HR/39 RBI/13 DBL/2 TRP/ .277 BA/.922 OPS. Pretty Dang Elite! Justin who?
• What makes Bobby Miller so good? His own words: “I’m really not scared of them out there.”
• Remember when I told you that “AJ Preller has the potential to really screw this up?” He’s incredible at it!
• The Dodgers are the class of the NL. The Dodgers really do not have to trade to get pitching, unless there are more injuries. I am personally not counting on May or Buehler… but the fact of the matter is that one or both could pitch this year!
• It looks like we may see Daniel Hudson in July. If healthy, that is huge!
• … and then the rest is s crapshoot. The Dodgers have Jimmy Nelson, Blake Treinen, JP Feyereisen, and Alex Reyes who may or may not be ready by season’s end. Maybe one or two?
• Thor goes tonight… how much more can we endure?
• Freddie Freeman for MVP! He is a machine!
• Luke Williams (former shiny object) is hitting .250 at OKC.
• Diego Cartaya is awakening from his hibernation. He was 2-5 last night with his 5th HR and 3 RBI. He is about ready to go over .200 for the year. It’s about time!
• Landon Knack got spanked for the first time this season: 4 IP/6 H/5 ER/4 BB/4 K – his ERA is up to 2.20.
• Great Lakes beat Beloit 20-0 as they missed an extra point! Everyone hit – even Jake Vogel!