It’s a really tough question, and essentially it all boils down to a contest of what can arguably be classified as corporate crime/white collar crime versus allegedly criminally violent and utterly immoral acts. Chicago sports fans, who would jettison first- Chicago Cubs middle infielder Addison Russell or Chicago Bulls front office men, V.P. John Paxson and G.M. Gar Forman.
And you can vote below on Twitter, up until 8pm tonight. As of now, the voting is tightly contested, and it’s way too close to call who will be the “winner” (i.e. loser) when the polls closes.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/1128465216759635968
My prediction is that it’s going to be Addison Russell, as we’re still waiting for him to a.) truly acknowledge what exactly he did b.) the severity of those acts c.) make an apology for them that is actually substantive.
Russell stands accused of committing domestic violence, and basically torturing the mother of his offspring. While his ex-wife isn’t filing charges, and therefore he will face no legal repercussions for actions, Major League Baseball looked at the overwhelming evidence against him, and felt it was strong enough that it warranted harsh discipline.
As for the Cubs, they should finally realize what’s happened here and do the right thing, but well, don’t hold your breath.
Moving on to the Bulls, and their GarPax reign of terror, wouldn’t it be great to be as bad at your job as they are at their’s and never face any repercussions for it?
GarPax have taken a once proud sporting franchise and turned it into basically nothing more than “a revenue stream.” It’s a money laundering organization now, a debt instrument, and it serves absolutely no purpose other than making already wealthy people even wealthier.
The GarPax Bulls provide as much value to Chicago sports fans as a collateralized debt obligation or credit default swap.
So there you have it, the choice is yours.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.