If MJ contirms that all athletes will definitely receive their prize/appearance money by September, no lasting damage. MJ will be able to resume his usual commentating role with the BBC at the World Championships in mid September.
Grand Slam is tens of millions in the hole though. Athletes won't be getting money by September or ever, without good lawyers.
"Good Lawyers" would have no way being paid since Nike left GST with no money i n the bank. Without assets, GST is not sueable, i.e. no money to collect by the lawyers. This Nike is protected by GST's 501c Charity by law.
Track never needed "saving" and the Diamond League worked perfectly well. Now this new venture has become a disaster anyway.
So what about Michael Johnson? He was generally considered a cool guy and in the UK has done a lot of work for the BBC and is generally liked. But are people reconsidering after this mess?
Bill Ackman, who got black Harvard president Claudine Gay fired, reneged on his pledge to give $30 million for GST MJ's only crime is taking Ackman at his word
That may not be his only crime if he knew they didn't have the money
Track never needed "saving" and the Diamond League worked perfectly well. Now this new venture has become a disaster anyway.
So what about Michael Johnson? He was generally considered a cool guy and in the UK has done a lot of work for the BBC and is generally liked. But are people reconsidering after this mess?
It will be determined by the media outlets in the UK. He commentated and wrote for those outlets and they did respect his opinion. I doubt the audience will lose respect in his track expertise. Ultimately, most of it is pretty milquetoast. Somehow he didn’t fit in with the screeching hyenas ex-pros hired here in the US market. I don’t think he’s welcomed back under the DL umbrella. He’ll resurface for the BBC during the 26 Olympics. I guess you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take but he just shot himself in the foot.
Hopefully we don't have to listen to him as an announcer ever again, that would be ideal. Sick of MJ and all the BS he spews. Remember when he told us he was 100% committed to being transparent and that there were no financial problems? Yeah that wasn't very long ago. He is kinda a big ole selfish liar and we have plenty of great folks in this sport we don't really need an MJ grift.
Agreed. Look at basketball’s MJ, Michael Jordan. His tenure as majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets is widely regarded as a failure, but that didn’t tarnish his image as a player.
Plus look at all the head football and basketball coaches who’ve been fired and then almost immediately got a broadcast job.
People collectively, generally have either the wrong or the right impression of an individual. If they thought MJ was a good guy, that's perhaps overlooking or being naive to what he's hiding-- his steroid use as an athlete. Would you expect a steroid user to not be a crook as a business man? He may have some land to sell ya then too.
Holy Crap!!!
When did MJ test positive? Not speculation, not opinion, not "look how big he was when he competed", not "why else did he run so fast"?, just a date when he tested positive and how long was his ban. I don't recall MJ testing positive or being banned, am I wrong? As far as his business knowledge, or lack thereof, and the GST debacle I think it's obvious that he's underwater and has some serious financial issues to fix. We all agree with that, but not to slander him as an athlete with no credible proof.
Try to stay in your lane and don't talk out of your A$$.
Bill Ackman, who got black Harvard president Claudine Gay fired, reneged on his pledge to give $30 million for GST MJ's only crime is taking Ackman at his word
That may not be his only crime if he knew they didn't have the money
It depends how much he paid himself. If he paid himself millions then yes his credibility is toast. If he didn’t pay himself at all then he’s still a great guy.
Financial success in track is always questionable. No one has any credibility until they have a financially successful meet. He tried. It was probably spread out too much. It didn't work. Back to the drawing board.
Another part where Johnson screwed up on was leaving off field events. The two most famous track n field athletes in the world are Duplantis and Chopra. You’re telling me having Tara Davis hyping up the crowd or having Crouser go for more records wouldn’t have helped ? Field brings more interest and eyeballs than Johnson and others want to admit.
The whole thing lost credibility the second it became Grand Slam "Track", and not Grand Slam "Athletics". Whether you are a fan of field events or not, the fact remains that they are always going to be an integral part of Track "and Field" (and always should be), and to segregate a group of athletes from the opportunity to compete and make some great money (when eventually they were to be paid....maybe) just reeks "haves" and "have nots" in our sport.
The dumbest thing he did was have the first meet in Jamaica. If the hope is to make money and be profitable, then put it somewhere that you can make money.
Not dissing Jamaica, but if the venue matters, and money matters, have meets where you can make it…
The DL has Europe, and I just don’t think North America is ready to make Track important. The US just realize F1 is better than everything the US offers, even though it’s been around forever. We haven’t found it in track yet.