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Indians GM Shapiro lets political position be known
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, Mar 09, 2008
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: Most Americans avoid discussing politics with friends for fear they will raise the temperature of casual conversations, engender hostility or risk being written off someone's Christmas list.
Why lend a cup of sugar or share car-pool responsibilities with a neighbor who has voted for or against (fill in the candidate) or supports or opposes (fill in your favorite hot-button issue)?
Except for film stars whose excesses include pontificating on topics far from their limited areas of expertise, the reluctance to comment on sensitive subjects goes double for people in the public arena.
So what was Mark Shapiro doing on the WKNR (850-AM) radio last week explaining to Tony Rizzo why he wants Barack Obama to be president?
The way Shapiro sees it, he not only is the general manager of the Indians, he is a U.S. citizen who has fully formed and mature opinions about affairs of state. He is a product of a Baltimore family that routinely talked about politics and of a father, Ron, who has long been active in Democratic strategizing in Maryland.
In addition to Shapiro's family connection to politics, the law partner of Ron Shapiro, a prominent negotiator and sports agent, is Larry Gibson, a former associate deputy attorney general in the Carter administration, who ran the 1992 campaign in Maryland for Bill Clinton and was campaign manager for three-term Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke.
''My dad was always very active in local politics,'' Shapiro said. ''One summer when I was in college, I worked on Mayor Schmoke's campaign as the guy who distributed signs and bumper stickers.''
In other words, Shapiro came by his interest in politics honestly. He was surrounded by people who were directly involved in the process.
But he knew that he could never be a successful candidate.
''I don't deal well with bureaucracies,'' Shapiro said. ''I get frustrated with the political process, especially when special interests have to be weighed along with the common good.''
In other words, Shapiro would have a difficult time compromising his ideals to move forward a few inches, which is the choice all politicians must make.
Granted, that doesn't explain Shapiro's willingness to violate the unspoken rules of American social conduct. And what would the Dolans think? Matt Dolan, the son of Indians owner Larry Dolan, is a Republican member of the Ohio legislature.
Shapiro ran it by his boss, just in case something like the radio appearance arose Tuesday, and Dolan had no objections. Nevertheless, Shapiro didn't plan on expressing his opinion. Rizzo asked.
''In my lifetime, nobody has engaged me on the national political level, and we need someone to pull us together,'' Shapiro said of his advocacy of Obama. ''It's hard to feel inspired about our national leadership now. I think he can bring people together, and that's not an easy thing to do.''
Stating his beliefs once on a sports talk show is about as far as Shapiro will go in actively campaigning for Obama. However, he has supported Obama with his checkbook, and he and C.C. Sabathia came close to making a joint appearance for the candidate.
''We're having a hard time agreeing on a contract, but we're together on Obama,'' Shapiro said, smiling.
That said, Shapiro is aware that publicly endorsing a political candidate might upset fans or sponsors of the Indians.
''I don't feel real comfortable about this,'' he said. ''I'm a baseball GM. But I've also been a member of the Cleveland community for 17 years. If I didn't think this was a positive thing for the area, I wouldn't have said anything.''
So is there something wrong with Shapiro revealing his choice for president? Obviously, there are no constitutional objections, but that's not the point.
The potential problem has to do with marketing and public relations, image and making waves. In the case of a corporate entity like a major-league baseball team, even one tiny ripple might be viewed as too many. But let's hope not.
Granted, few players or executives employed by big-league clubs make their political views known. But Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein did it, and so did one of his pitchers, Curt Schilling.
Epstein appeared with John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign, and Schilling publicly endorsed George Bush that year. Schilling joined the John McCain camp this time around, making at least one campaign stop with the Arizona senator in December. Schilling and McCain have been friends since Schilling was a starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
As far as I know, there were no repercussions for the Red Sox. Northeast Ohio fans shouldn't have a beef with Shapiro, either.
Even the most unaware Tribe partisan ought to be able to figure out that players and team executives have opinions, even if they're seldom expressed. That includes views on who they think should run the country. Moreover, a fan can't possibly believe that everyone in the Indians' clubhouse and front office shares the same political attitudes as him.
Many people resent individuals who use their celebrity to influence the electorate, especially when their political expertise consists of having sung the national anthem at a candidate's rally. Movie stars who hit the campaign trail to prime the pump for their favorites sometimes do more harm than good. Then again, there's Oprah.
What does this tell us? If we like the messenger, we will like — or at least tolerate — the message? Or maybe we have the good sense to decide if the message makes sense on merit, no matter who is doing the communicating?
I don't really know. But this kind of obstacle to free speech is not triggered by the sensitivities of fans as much as the sensitivity of owners to anything that might upset the customers. So I give the Dolans credit for allowing Shapiro the independence to say what was on his mind.
There are plenty of owners of private corporations and CEOs of public ones who would have advised him to shut his mouth and stick to baseball. Which tells us what? That the age of enlightenment hasn't arrived everywhere but has made an appearance in Cleveland?
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
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