Arthur Blank is worried that capitalism is getting a bad rap. So, I would say it was very successful. He shares how he and Bernie Marcus were brusquely fired from executive positions at Handy Dan Home Improvement Stores the humiliating inflection point that led the pair to create The Home Depot. I mean, those fans, they feel like that's the only sport that we're hosting in that stadium. The NFL could and should be a leader among other giant corporations in taking stark stands against belligerent stupidity like racism (which it is sort of good at in a lipservice/signage kind of way, considering 70% of its players are black) and sexism (where it has a long ways to go, despite promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month with pink shoes), but also right now for wait for it COVID vaccinations. The Atlanta Falcons new stadium is going to be beautiful. They all understand it's, you know, you have an opportunity to be here on Earth and how do you want to leave it? Now 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. But really, in my view, it's mostly that talking to young people about, you know, here's somebody who's been there, done it, gotten on T-shirts, lived it, and somebody whose name they respect or the least they know of, I should say, in most cases. ', We have to be better than this moment. Atlanta rapper, advocate Killer Mike has message for protestors https://t.co/zb3oMHK7sx, "You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country. So, then we opened up The Home Depot. Georgia Public Radio GPTV, a 2019 Report from the EJI documents more than 4440 racial terror lynchings in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950], National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Political Rewind: Theater critic Jesse Green remembers Mary Rodgers in 'Shy', Longtime nature writer Janisse Ray delivers gripping debut novel, At new season kickoff, Atlanta United looks for fresh start on the field. The pair always strove to create a work environment that put people before politics, said Blank. But he was there and he finally said, Listen, you own the franchise, you have the option. I think when the president [Donald Trump] in the fall of 2017 commented during his speech in Alabama about I don't want to use the words, you know what they were but he termed the players that were kneeling, in my view, in a very derogatory way. And to be sure, Atlanta is better than what we saw in the actions of a few last night. And then as Dr. King wrote in his last book, which his wife published a year after he passed away. The firing in 1978 was a political situation primarily between my partner Bernie [Marcus] and a gentleman, that has passed away now, who was his boss. At the time, Atlanta liked to call itself The City Too Busy to Hate, but as more African Americans moved to the city the moniker shifted to The City Too Busy Moving to Hate, as more white Atlantans escaped the city to the northern suburbs. And it's all connected not only to associates, but to the communities in which we live and operate. The organization works directly with election officials to maintain accurate and complete voter lists and to secure their election technology infrastructure. I suspect he had help. And so from there, since the 2001- 2002 season, we've only had three games that were not sold out during the season. We need to recognize those truths. ,> U#kw1%dHT6qZq]9Ki o By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The problem for the big, powerful, macho NFL, as it is for every other giant public entity, is that racism and cancer are kind of the easy stuff. But COVID vaccination, as a consequence of being made political by belligerent partisans, many of whom love football more than life itself, is terrifying territory for the NFL. . Blank is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. Animals and Pets Anime Art Cars and Motor Vehicles Crafts and DIY Culture, Race, and Ethnicity Ethics and Philosophy Fashion Food and Drink History Hobbies Law Learning and Education Military Movies Music Place Podcasts and Streamers Politics Programming Reading, Writing, and Literature Religion and Spirituality Science Tabletop Games . He notes pervasive cynicism about corporate leaders and perceptions that the drive for profit comes at the expense of public good. These are the kinds of people we need in leadership today, not thinking about red, blue, purple. a guy regularly reviled by sportswriters, players and fans as a (very wealthy) toxic idiot. We believe the right to vote is sacred and should be protected, so that we can have an active and engaged citizenry that participates in our democracy year-round, not just during presidential election cycles. that those rights were not being fully reflected in our society today. Young you are. Arthur Blank is getting more involved in the political process. Now, the last game we had in the Georgia Dome before we moved to Mercedes Benz Stadium in August of 2017, wewere honoring all of our ring of honor members and he was one of them. Enter your email address to be notified about new posts. Sadly, sometimes these young men and women get involved in that cycle and they never get out of it. The next thing is making sure you exercise your political bully power and going to local elections and beating up the politicians you dont like., It is time to beat up prosecutors you dont like at the voting booth. A Handful of Things I Could Not Care Less About, Matt Birk: Rape Victims Are Playing the Rape Card?, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Opponents of the bill argue it's too restrictive and targets minority voters. Atlanta Falcons vNew Orleans Saints Owner Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Flacons reacts before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. [/Pattern /DeviceRGB] CEIR works to build voter trust and confidence, increase voter participation and improve the efficiency of election administration. I listen to what he says and sometimes I'll cringe. If you would like to customise your choices, click 'Manage privacy settings'. "I think one of the things that is wrong with America today that we can work on and become better at is that we need to become better listeners to each other and we need to be better about understanding where people are coming from," Blank said. Born on September 27, 1942, Blank owns the Atlanta, Georgia sports teams - the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL and Atlanta United of the MLS. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images). Her father was one half of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Scott Jensens Unanswered $15,000,000,000 Question. The 74-year-old Blank, who Forbes estimates has an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion, is the director of Cox. If you don't make good choices, you can end up being in really bad places. So I think that part of that comes out of really being a good listener and responding to what you're hearing and trying to find a way to make things work for the benefit of everybody collaboratively. Our history of voting rights is a constant struggle, a repetitive cycle of expansion followed by restriction. I want you guys to come up with real solutions. I said, Look, I'm going to be a new owner, tell me what I can do to help. All Rights Reserved. "So, you know, I love him. She was a woman of great principle, great personal authority. This must happen more than every four years, because theres no offseason for democracy. He had a gun on his lap, sitting on his right thigh. But, you know, I think the word civility is terribly important today in the political world in which we just don't see it the way we need to see it. I think back when I lived in a neighborhood, you know, a small neighborhood, when my mother and dad were alive, we all took care of each other. And I told him before, You get in a convertible and drive around the field and Michael, there are 73,000 people in the building. /Type /ExtGState By all accounts, those associated with the new stadium and the Westside view their presence as at least a 10-20 year commitment toward revitalizing a downtrodden community and bringing the city together. I am, in a certain sense. "He cares deeply about giving back and making a difference in people's lives. And I love him. The Blank foundation also emphasizes environmental sustainability and aims to support programs that foster this message in the Westside. Kimball previously served as the vice president of network support at Teach for All. "This grant will help The Center add to its existing . Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is the first nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in Georgia and the Southeast. Blank, speaking with Falcons reporters via phone from the Super Bowl, expressed confidence in the direction of the team following a 7-10 finish under second-year coach Arthur Smith. Please stop the violence!, Im not in Atlanta, but if I were I would have been standing with our Mayor! It had to do with our set of values.". endobj /CA 1.0 The family foundation has already invested over $20 million into the surrounding community. He owns the team, after all. Did the Vikings and NFL Just Blacklist Another Left-Leaning Player? /Width 625 I stayed in touch with him to some degree when he was in prison. The Westside also suffers from severe flooding problems, and the stadium has a 1.1 million gallon storm vault underground to trap and reuse their rain water, and help prevent flooding. He would say, I don't need to be cut any slack, you know. Though the 78-year-old who's now the owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team was aware of their political differences, he said it never had any bearing on their shared values. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. One of the robbers tied me up in the bathroom, the bathtub, and I said a few things to him, which, at 10 years old, I don't think my mother even knew I knew those words. The Falcons were the first pro football team in the South, founded during the civil rights era in 1965. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr 03/03/2023. The portfolio includes nearly $10 million in grants to 12 nonprofits that represent a diverse set of organizations with a strong presence in Georgia and the Southeast. But, we really could not have done it without great service, great pricing, and great product knowledge. Today, Blank is the Chairman of AMB Group LLC, parent company of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. This isnt just a short-cut, this is a long-term play with significant input and investment into the community and its future, said Scott Jenkins, the general manager of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to The Daily Beast. 3, By 1981, Home Depots stock went public and raised over $4 million. I have many friends who are no longer fervent Braves supporters. It's a beautiful thing. And that's it. Blank also owns Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a sports and entertainment facility valued at $1.5 billion that hosted the 2019 Super Bowl. Arthur is committed to changing the narrative around sports stadiums, said Frank Fernandez, the VP of Community Development at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, to The Daily Beast. These are not political issues, they are human issues that need serious, earnest attention from leaders and citizens alike who understand that diversity is our strength and fair treatment is everyones right. [Thats] something that I talk about in the book, which most people are not aware of. To many Atlantans, myself included, leaving Turner Field was symbolic of the white flight that has defined the city since the 1960s. I look at my six children, Batch 1, Batch 2, and, you know, they go from age 19 to age 52, if I have it right. "His approach obviously is different. << I've had conversations with a number of senators who made it very clear that some of their best friends, both politically and otherwise, are on the other side of the aisle. endobj Mercedes-Benz Stadium is located adjacent to the Falcons current home, the Georgia Dome, in Atlantas Westside. Georgia Politics FOX 5 Atlanta ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United Owner Arthur Blank said Tuesday afternoon he believes voting should be made "easier, not harder for every eligible. And we need to figure out, you know, how do we move past that and how do we learn from that and how do we get connected with our current reality? However, the Atlanta Falcons new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, may foster a new era of stadium construction and community engagement. Blank and Marcus put their discounting experiment to the test in their own brand of warehouse stores called Home Depot and opened the first two Atlanta-area stores in 1979. But Blank regularly speaks on business school campuses, where future leaders and executives tell him they are anxious about the environment, the wealth gap, racial and gender inequities, and a litany of examples of corporate malfeasance. >> "And I'm not 100 years old I'm getting there, but I'm not but the things I see and deal with are just inherently not what's made this country great. /Creator ( w k h t m l t o p d f 0 . And he should know. The Number of White Teachers About to Get Fired is Exactly Zero. %PDF-1.4 If you sit in your homes instead of burning your home to the ground, you will have time to properly plot, plan, strategize and organize and mobilize in effective ways., Two of the most effective ways is first taking your butt to the computer and making sure you fill out your census so that people know who you are and where you are. Friday on Political Rewind: Mary Rodgers grew up among some of Broadway's biggest names, from Sondheim to Bernstein. We sold out the entire stadium in two-and-a-half hours. Arthur blank politics The largest donation made to a political party by an Atlanta Falcons employee was by Arthur Blank. The Athletic reported that Blank gave $2,800 to Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, on July 1. Paul, are you there? What Would Trump Steal That is So Ultra Top Secret and Why? He released a statement five days after Gov. Left to right: Dennis Ross, Arthur Blank, Bernie Marcus, Pat Farrah, Ron Brill. Prior to the construction of the Georgia Dome they played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with the Atlanta Braves, and you could see the spot where Hank Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth in home runs. 2023 Cox Media Group. 2, In the late 1970s, Arthur Blank was an officer at Handy Dan, a regional hardware store chain in Southern California. I was gagged. Owner Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Flacons reacts before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. I understand that, but I respect it," said Blank. Despite being widowed at a young age, his mother managed the familys mail-order pharmaceutical business and sold it to a large retail conglomerate. And I remember he told me, he said, You know, when [I went into] the prison system, they gave me three pair of underwear, three shirts, three pair slacks, three socks and one pair of shoes, and that was it. He said, That was all I was going to have, as opposed to the lifestyle he was leading before. It's good to be different, said Blank, but he said it's the intolerance of some that worries him about the future. 2010-2023 Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Arthur%2BBlank&contributor_employer=The%2BArthur&two_year_transaction_period=2016&contributor_state=GA, https://www.ajc.com/news/local/molly-blank-strong-widow-grew-successful-business-sons/JMYrzmcGsGc4nXD58rqltJ/, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197614, https://corporate.homedepot.com/sites/default/themes/thd/images/timeline/History-Of-The-Home-Depot.pdf, https://www.forbes.com/profile/arthur-blank/?sh=ae7b330749c3, https://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/front-office-roster/arthur-blank, https://blankfoundation.org/trustee/arthur-m-blank/, https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/statement-from-arthur-blank-on-georgia-voting-rights, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/04/11/companies-voting-bills-states/, https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/arthur-blank-wife-angela-are-getting-a-divorce/897352464/, https://saportareport.com/a-longtime-anonymous-donor-reveals-her-identity/sections/abcarticles/maria_saporta/, https://blankfoundation.org/trustee/dena-kimball/, https://blankfoundation.org/trustee/kenny-blank/. The perceived linebetween politics and sports further blurred when Major League Baseball's union chief said players are ready to discuss moving the 2021 MLB All-Star Game out of Truist Park. meathead) culture inside the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins. And I remember him looking at me saying, If I told your mother what you just said, she would wash your mouth out with soap. But that was the last thing I said. /Filter /DCTDecode Can We Please Kill Off the Tipping Mumbo-Jumbo? This is not the legacy of civil rights in America. I'll flip words around, you know, subconsciously and, and make sentences complete. But you want your core values to be the same, ideally. And I think we got disconnected. And that's one of our core values as well: Include everybody. To anyone interested in a deeper dive into NFL culture I strongly recommend, Big Game by New York Times Magazine writer Mark Leibovich for an inside-the-suites sense of who says what to who when its more or less just them peer billionaires talking. They put my mother, my brother and I in the living room with one of them and the other was searching the house, looking for cash that wasn't there. A company where we already know from law suits the teams executives treated its cheerleaders like Vegas escorts and, yup, traded nudie pictures of them changing outfits. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Among Blanks diverse interests are the nationwide PGA Tour Superstore chain, three guest ranches in Montana, and a family foundation that counts millions in economic development investments on Atlantas beleaguered Westside among its $660-million outlay to date. stream That origin story is well known in business and retail circles as an example of how bold, disruptive thinking can change the game, but Good Company provides a more personal view. We Present You Trumps Deposition, More or Less Verbatim. And they found ways to get things done with people who had a little bit a different view but found that commonality that was really important. The Athletic's Felipe Crdenas joined Georgia Public Broadcasting's Orlando Montoya tohelp breakdown what fans can expect this year on and off the field. Then I would not be bashful about asking questions. Weve never won a Super Bowl, and this years loss in Super Bowl LI was especially hard to take. Lawlessness, vandalism and intentionally upending the peace with any form of violence has never been productive and is not the answer. So there was no disrespect to the military. The Gruden e-mails were leaked from a (way too) long-running investigation of the toxic (i.e. Generally speaking they dont do a lot to lift up the communities and neighborhoods around them. Download the FOX 5 Atlanta appfor breaking news and weather alerts. In our case, the fans, customers, guests or grantees, whatever the case may be, you're going to find out the ultimate truth of what you need to do to build a business response to issues, spot opportunities, deal with problems, whatever it may be. It's not trying influence, but trying to share philosophies of life and stories and thoughts about a certain set of values, which really transcend business, nonprofit, as well as the political arena. Ticket pricing was higher than it could have been or should have been at that time, and so I brought Dick Sullivan over from Home Depot, the gentleman who now runs our PGA Superstores and we came up with a strategy that we've got to sell season's tickets for $100. 13 Diana is a left-of-center philanthropist based in Atlanta and anonymously contributed several high-profile donations in the area including a $4 million gift to the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra as well as a nearly $20 million gift to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. His percentage of giving back from his estate will be equal to mine and some of his philosophies don't exactly match mine. endobj 2023 FOX Television Stations, Georgia Secretary of State calls many election changes 'solid', study by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight in October 2020, too restrictive and targets minority voters, Cobb leader says moving MLB All-Star game in protest would hurt business, Democrats dispute police report in Georgia lawmakers arrest, Civil rights groups file new lawsuit over Georgia voting law, Photos show rescue of Woodstock man 'buried up to his neck' in collapsed trench, Frederick, MD tanker explosion leaves 1 dead; Shuts down part of US-15, Sheriff's office continues five-year-long search for missing Carrollton man, Georgia baby girl reported missing with man diagnosed with mental illness, police say, Jesse Wilson: Adoptive mother arrested in boy's death in Arizona, Clayton County twin sisters make history rising the ranks in Georgia UPS facility, Alex Murdaugh killed wife, son to buy time, prosecutor says, UGA football star Jalen Carter facing charges in fatal crash: What we know, Young Thug trial: Judge orders probe of leaked evidence, Families intensify search for two men missing for more than a week. Brian Kemp signed SB 202 into law. And my mother was giving him a lecture saying, You realize this is not what your parents would want you to do. Dueling Visions for Minnesota: Scandinavia or South Dakota? Is the Jensen-Birk Campaign Minnesotas WOAT? Michael Vicks published letter, Atlanta, nearly made a whole city cry on the eve of the Super Bowl. In order to put this grinding pandemic behind us once and for all? I know you see my partner, Bernie, on Fox News very often. ATLANTA Protests over the death of George Floyd have been gaining national attention. American professional sports owners have contributed nearly $47 million in federal elections since 2015, according to research by ESPN in partnership with FiveThirtyEight, including $10 million.