Thank you Bob Johnson!

[Vagrant]

I appreciate your honesty that seeing so many successful black people bothered you and somewhat alienated you, but truly its a double standard. Someone could say alot of these EXACT same things about the Panthers and their "keep it in the family" attitude and refusal to market the team to anybody but older conservative white folks. When it comes to diversity and putting the best people in position to get the job done, the Bobcats are light years ahead of them. By the way, the Lady Cats have never been a majority black cheerleading squad and they have always had people from all walks of life working for them. People in this area just arent used to blacks in the corporate sector, so when Bob had so many of them in the front office people automatically assume they arent qualified or he only picked them cuz their black.

I never said that seeing successful black people bothered me, and I will not allow you to twist my words to that degree. You can feel alienated without being cynical and angry. I mostly felt confused and excluded. Regardless of who was competing for these jobs, I was never in the running to get them anyways so it's a non factor to me other than the repeated pattern of the owner of the team constantly picking people that I could not relate with from a racial divide standpoint.

I also never questioned the qualifications of the black men and women that held these positions. I simply underscored the need for diversity as a key element in making anything business related work. You have to appeal to a broad audience and when you intentionally exclude such a large group of people by virtue of selective hiring processes, then you also suffer those consequences at the gate when it comes to ticket sales and revenue. It is no coincidence that the Hornets were so successful here and the Bobcats have had a hard time taking roots. The Bobcats, from the music played in the arena down to the vendors, was a process geared towards meeting the needs of its black customers at the beginning of the franchises' existence. It simply wasn't a very savvy way to operate and it cost Mr. Johnson dearly and will ultimately go down as a failed venture on his part.

Now that the necessary change has occurred to increase diversity, I feel more comfortable attending games and being involved with the Bobcats on the whole now that the racial elements have been removed from the discussion.

I am a staunch liberal and voted for our current president because he was the most qualified man for the position, in my estimation. I would have done this if he had been black, brown, yellow, green, or purple. I feel that is the way to create equality is not to promote one race for the sake of promoting one race, but to celebrate the differences in each other that provide room for ground breaking ideas and valuable input from all walks of life. When you hire from a pool of one select group of people, you lose that element and become a proponent of the very racism in which you wish to defy. Despite popular opinion, white to black racism is not the only form of racism. Any race can commit that particular act of ignorance and I feel that Mr. Johnson's business model was skewed by race to the degree that it qualified as racism. That turned me away from his product.

[King Taharqa]

I am a staunch liberal and voted for our current president because he was the most qualified man for the position, in my estimation. I would have done this if he had been black, brown, yellow, green, or purple. I feel that is the way to create equality is not to promote one race for the sake of promoting one race, but to celebrate the differences in each other that provide room for ground breaking ideas and valuable input from all walks of life.

At no point in this team's history did Bob just hire black people for the sake of hiring black people, he's always had and has white folks working for him. And he's always marketed this team to everybody. Michael Jordan is very qualified, Rod Higgins (who helped pull off the J Rich and Jax deals) is very qualified. Larry Brown is very qualified. You realize there are many white fans of the Bobcats who have been on board from day 1 who werent bothered by the rap music or who is represented in the front office because they care more about the product on the court than the "politics" and "aesthetic symbols" of the Bobcats.

When you hire from a pool of one select group of people, you lose that element and become a proponent of the very racism in which you wish to defy.

This is why I stay on the Panthers, they dont even acknowledge or look at black quarterbacks and only choose to select from a monolithic group of white players for marketing purposes. So I actually agree with you here, just not when it comes to the Bobcats for the reasons I described in the paragraph above.

Despite popular opinion, white to black racism is not the only form of racism. Any race can commit that particular act of ignorance and I feel that Mr. Johnson's business model was skewed by race to the degree that it qualified as racism. That turned me away from his product.

So Bob Johnson, the man who drafted Adam Morrison 3rd overall in the NBA draft and gave him guaranteed money that he's still eating off of to this day had a "racist" agenda against white folks?

[King Taharqa]

Whats funny is that in the black community Bob Johnson is seen as the biggest uncle tom/sellout this side of Clarence Thomas. He's about as "safe" and "tolerable" a black man as you are gonna get. And apparently, thats still not good enough for some folks. Thats why I laugh when people try to paint him as this "super pro black" businessman who hates white people.

[King Taharqa]

July 22, 2004 – The Charlotte Bobcats will team with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte in an effort that will provide each organization with an opportunity to actively market, promote and intermingle with each other’s respected publics through community-oriented activities and programs, it was announced by President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Tapscott. Tapscott is also a member of the board for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.

“The Bobcats are very excited to be partners with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. The YMCA has long been a pillar in the Charlotte region and an institution for community involvement,” Tapscott said. “I have seen first-hand how the YMCA has been a stream of opportunity that has helped shape the future of so many young people, and we are proud to assist that effort.”

Just an example of some of the community work Bob has done since being in Charlotte. On the YMCA's website they describe Bob as a "major supporter". Having an owner that believes strongly in community service and giving back filters thru the entire organization and sets the standard for our players like Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, & Gerald Wallace to do the same. Thank you for caring Bob!

[pstall]

My personal disdain for Stern and some sneaky dealings with the city and other owners asisde, the only regret or simply just wished for something different was just this. A bigger arena.

The arena can never host a Final Four and that is really it.

I'm not gonna dredge up the past on any of this. I do think Bob made some good adjustments over time and whether or not it was hitting his wallet or PR, he made the adjustments.

Gotta look ahead and keep hoping for the best in all situations.

[King Taharqa]

It was NASCAR night, with several drivers helping the Bobcats collect money to help the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was honored at halftime, and the Bobcats wore their road blue uniforms with a checkered flag stripe down each side.

Thank you Bob for reaching out to our brothers & sisters of the NASCAR family in 2006 and starting this yearly tradition. NASCAR is engrained in the fabric of NC/SC sports and tradition, and taking the time out to recognize that was a very classy gesture on your part. You've also exposed NASCAR to some NBA fans who might not be familiar with the sport. Another example of the commitment to diversity. Thank you Bob.

Jimmie Johnson is the LeBron of NASCAR, I'm proud he's a Bobcats fan. We love you Jimmie!

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Anyone ever stop to think that more black people applied for those jobs at the arena than white folk? Maybe white folk feel like they're too good to do the jobs filled by minorities?

Johnson is 10x the owner that Shinn was, yet people want that trash drug back to Charlotte and put up on a pedestal.

No coincidence that most of the people that hate Johnson and hate the Bobcats can't stop sucking the Hornets off.

[Cyclonus]

Bunch of ignorance in this thread, and that's sad.

Makes honkies feel insecure to see a black man succeed far past their own capabilities.

Wait...what? Ironically, that is the most ignorant post I've seen in this thread.

Bob Johnson is a hell of a business man and had already had more success than us "honkies" will ever have before he brought us the Bobcats. My feelings for him as an owner have zero to do with his race. It's easy to brush off criticism by saying his critics are racist. The fact is Bob Johnson has made a lot of mistakes and I believe he got in way over his head. He is a bottom line business man who just doesn't fit in the NBA. You don't buy an NBA team to make money.

[King Taharqa]

Anyone ever stop to think that more black people applied for those jobs at the arena than white folk? Maybe white folk feel like they're too good to do the jobs filled by minorities?

Johnson is 10x the owner that Shinn was, yet people want that trash drug back to Charlotte and put up on a pedestal.

No coincidence that most of the people that hate Johnson and hate the Bobcats can't stop sucking the Hornets off.

Those people dont realize the Hornets arent coming back, the Charlotte Coliseum got blown to kingdom come a few years back anyway. Those days are over, this is BOBCAT COUNTRY now. Thank you Bob!

As a former Hornets fan and season ticket holder, you are absolutely correct that Bob has been 10X the owner Shinn was, just getting our beautiful arena uptown built is proof of that. There's never been an owner/founder in the history of sports to endure the lack of patience & immediate doubt that Bob has been shown with the product he built from scratch. People have been trying to run him out of town ever since he got here. Being the first african american founder/owner of a pro sports team comes with a price. Some people just arent going to give you that "blind trust" and faith. They're not used to or comfortable with an african american with that much power and unquestioned authority making decisions. Bob has been a good owner for this team and has it going in the right direction.

[God]

Anyone ever stop to think that more black people applied for those jobs at the arena than white folk? Maybe white folk feel like they're too good to do the jobs filled by minorities?

Johnson is 10x the owner that Shinn was, yet people want that trash drug back to Charlotte and put up on a pedestal.

No coincidence that most of the people that hate Johnson and hate the Bobcats can't stop sucking the Hornets off.

I hope you die a terrible death.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

And I hope someday you know what a vagina feels like.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Wait...what? Ironically, that is the most ignorant post I've seen in this thread.

Bob Johnson is a hell of a business man and had already had more success than us "honkies" will ever have before he brought us the Bobcats. My feelings for him as an owner have zero to do with his race. It's easy to brush off criticism by saying his critics are racist. The fact is Bob Johnson has made a lot of mistakes and I believe he got in way over his head. He is a bottom line business man who just doesn't fit in the NBA. You don't buy an NBA team to make money.

Did he stick by those mistakes, or did he make adjustments like a sensible businessman would?

You'd expect someone that has very little experience in running a professional sports franchises to stumble a bit here and there. Shinn got a pass for most of his fug ups. Johnson gets raked over the coals for his. Shinn never learned from his mistakes and got shipped out. Johnson has made adjustments to his business plan to rectify the mistakes he's made, but its never enough.

[Britneck]

There is so much dumbness in this thread. It needs to be unstickied and locked.

[King Taharqa]

This weekend the Bobcats will have their first taste of all star weekend as G-Force will represent us in the slam dunk contest and the all-star game. I know this moment means alot to Bob and the entire organization. I want to see us make the playoffs for Bob. He's endured so much and worked so hard to help us get to this point. Seeing Charlotte back in the dance after not being there for 10 years would be big.