By this time, everyone is aware of the damage Bud Light, Target, Kohls, Nike and others have done to their brand. While Target will only suffer a temporary decline, Bud Light and Kohls may take years to rebound, if they ever do.
Why is this? Because there is too much competition. In Target’s case, they sell a multitude of products, and often are the most convenient place to get said products. For Bud Light and Kohls, there are endless options. You simply have to open the cooler door next to the Bud Light display, and if a town has a Kohls, you can bet they probably have a Marshal’s or T.J. Maxx. Variety makes all the difference.
Recently, another big corporation decided to poke the conservative bear. The Los Angeles Dodgers invited an anti Catholic group many would describe as a hate group to be “honored” during their annual Pride celebration.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, by any measure, are a hate group. They continually mock religion, Jesus, and the religious figures under the guise of activism and charity. So when the Dodgers started to get pushback from Los Angeles’ large Catholic community, they disinvited the group.
After the expected blowback from the radical left, the team caved once again and re-invited the group, effectively thumbing their noses at a large portion of their fan base.
After the flip-flop by the team, Tim Busch penned an op-ed for Fox News pointing out exactly where the Dodgers went wrong. He said in his op-ed: The flip-flopping wasn’t the Dodger’s biggest mistake. The real issue is that the baseball team waded into politics in the first place. I say this as a minority owner of two professional sports teams, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom.
I encourage anyone in professional sports to avoid any involvement in politics, for the simple reason that sports teams aren’t political groups. We aren’t in the business of taking sides in a cause, telling some people they’re wrong while others are right, and wading into the most divisive issues of the day.
While for most people this would seem to be common sense, it still appears that many teams, leagues, and corporations simply don’t get it. Sports are supposed to be a way to separate ourselves from reality, not be indoctrinated or preached at.
CURVEBALL: Dodgers star @ClaytonKersh22 speaks out against organization's decision to honor anti-Catholic LGBTQ group. https://t.co/D4bY7leBWd pic.twitter.com/8zxJD47PsJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 30, 2023
One would think MLB and the Dodgers could simply look at Target, Bud Light, or the NBA after 2020. Busch continued: We’re in the business of business, and we should stay that way. While the teams I co-own don’t always steer clear of politics, my message to the Dodgers and every sports team and business is still simple: This is a losing game that will cost you dearly for decades to come.
They demand that sports teams – and every business, for that matter – pick sides in our country’s culture wars. They want companies to take stands on everything from abortion to marriage to sexuality to changing children’s genders with invasive surgeries.
Beer is beer, clothing is clothing, and baseball is baseball. Why do companies that peddle beer, clothes and baseball feel the need to act like the proxy arm of the Democratic Party? No one goes to the ballpark to get preached to, no one buys Bud Light in support of their transgender friends, and people aren’t going to Target and Kohls to show solidarity with the left.
This mindset by these companies will end up costing all of them in the long run, and short, as Bud Light has displayed. Busch continues with an ominous warning: We don’t need it in the dugout, the field, or the boardroom. Fans, sports teams and business leaders have other things to worry about.
Don’t hold Pride night anymore. Don’t hoist a conservative flag on some other issue, either. Just stick to sports, which is the only reason people come to the stadium or turn on the game. If you don’t, a lot of them won’t come back or will change the channel. The Dodgers earned what’s coming their way.
It is going to be interesting to see if the Dodgers dig their high-heels in on the issue like Nike and many other companies, or relent and offer concessions like Target and Bud Light have. Either way, it’s a sad state of affairs and one more reason to avoid the ballpark.
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