Black baseball executives as rare as they were 30 years ago
After more than a quarter century with the franchise as a player, scout, and executive, Kenny Williams was fired as executive vice president of the Chicago White Sox last week.
With the White Sox preparing for their 12th losing season in the last 19 years, some may try to diminish his legacy. But Williams’ role in building one of the most successful runs in White Sox history cannot be forgotten.
Kenny Williams is a baseball pioneer
Williams takes his place among pioneers like Bill Lucas, Bob Watson, and Bill White in baseball history and remains one of only two Black general managers to assemble a World Series champion.
Kenny Williams held every job imaginable as he climbed the leadership ladder with Chicago. Following a less than notable career as a player that ended in 1991, Williams rejoined the White Sox as a scout in 1992 before becoming a special assistant to the team’s chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, in 1994.
Williams showed a talent for identifying players, and in 1997 he was promoted to vice president of player development.
Kenny Williams builds Chicago White Sox World Series winner
In 2000, Williams replaced Ron Schueler as general manager of the Sox following the team’s first playoff appearance in seven years. With Frank Thomas’ career winding down, Williams made the choice to hire another White Sox legend to push the team over the hump.
By bringing in the fiery personality of Ozzie Guillén, and committing to aggressive moves in acquiring talent, Williams was able to completely rebuild the lineup in just over two years.
In 2005, his vision would be realized.
The White Sox finished 99-63, capturing the AL Central title before defeating the defending champion Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Houston Astros to win the World Series for the first time in 88 years.
Over the next seven years, Chicago would remain competitive but failed to match the success of that magical run of ‘05. However, Williams’ loyalty and success were rewarded by Reinsdorf as he was promoted to executive vice president.
And now, that historic tenure has come to an end.
Ken Williams endured and won during his two decades in charge of the White Sox. He dealt with racism, low expectations, and the notoriously tight budget of Reinsdorf over the years.
He accomplished what few have in his sport. Making the successful transition from the field to the front office has been rare enough, but even more rare for Black players.
History will not forget Kenny Williams, and as long as that World Series banner flies, his legacy lives on the South Side.
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Digital education program helps athletes achieve greater financial savvy
With student-athletes in high school readily availing themselves of name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment (GSE) has launched a new financial education program, Money in the Making™, designed specifically for young athletes and entertainers. The free program provides information that helps young athletes build and manage their assets as well as make wise financial decisions.
Over 44% of student-athletes have expressed a desire to strengthen their financial literacy, and about 49% want tax information. Topics include budgeting, saving, investing, and credit. A high-profile partner for Money in the Making is 17-year NFL veteran Larry Fitzgerald Jr., who shares the keys to his post-football financial successes. Another partner is Parity, a brand sponsorship platform focused on closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports.
History-making bobsledder Dr. Seun Adigun, the force behind Nigeria’s 2018 debut at the Olympic Winter Games, has been working with Parity for a couple of years. “I’m one of the athletes who has benefitted,” said Adigun, who noted that Parity has developed high-impact collaborations for female athletes. “They match us with brands to get visibility as well as being appreciated for being women in sports.”
Adigun, a chiropractor and biomechanist, said financial literacy and awareness are crucial parts of success for female athletes. Also, “understanding what it means to be a brand,” said Adigun, a track athlete before taking up bobsled. “I want to be able to help other women to understand that life is about that balance—how to do your life as an athlete and also how to live your life as a financially healthy individual,” she said.
How to finance her professional education and how to finance the improbable bobsled project was something Adigun learned through trial and error. Helping other young athletes not have to face the same challenges is deeply satisfying for her.
“You can be a professional athlete but also understand that you’re a business and you are a personal brand,” she said. “That’s so much more relevant now in the age of social media.”
“Given NIL, there has been an influx of requests to host financial education sessions,” said Sandra L. Richards, managing director, head of GSE and Segment Sales & Engagement, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Money in the Making as a digital financial education platform allows us to scale the resource to reach as many student-athletes, their parents, and anybody else in their ecosystem where they are.”
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With preseason over, the Jets and Giants look ahead to Week 1
The Jets and Giants completed their preseason schedule facing each other last Saturday at MetLife, their shared home stadium. The Jets earned the win by 32-24, to finish 2-2 and the Giants ended 1-2. The Jets had an additional game as they opened the NFL preseason schedule playing the Cleveland Browns in the league’s annual Hall of Fame game on August 3.
Preseason is essentially immaterial now to the men who survived final cuts and the coaching staff. While sympathetic feelings may linger for those that grinded through the dog days of training camp and strived to make the teams’ 53-man roster but did not survive final cuts, preseason is immaterial now. The remaining players and coach staffs must now look ahead to Week 1.
The Jets open the regular season on a Monday night, September 11, at home against the Buffalo Bills, the defending AFC East winners. The Bills were 13-3 last season. They weren’t credited with playing 17 games because their contest against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2 was canceled after safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field after taking a direct hit to his chest.
The Jets did get through the full 17-game slate and were last in the division at 7-10. This season, with the addition of four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers resolving the Jets’ seemingly perpetual quarterback issues, they enter this season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
The oddsmakers don’t foresee the Giants having similar prospects as the Jets, but they have the necessities to be a playoff contender and perhaps go deeper into the postseason than they did last January, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round. It was the Giants’ first playoff appearance since 2016.
After going 9-7-1 last season, holding third place in the NFC East and securing a wildcard spot, the Giants will have a difficult schedule as it stands today and two of the league’s leading Super Bowl contenders in their own division to deal with in the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Five of the Giants first six games are versus teams that all made the playoffs last season. The exception is the Arizona Cardinals, who they face in Week 2.
The Giants open the regular season at MetLife on September 10 in the NFL’s Sunday night
(8:20 p.m.) primetime game hosting the Cowboys. They will play the Jets Week 8 (October 29) in a game the Giants are designated as the home team.
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Liberty wins keep coming along with new benchmarks
This is what it’s like to have a WNBA team filled with All-Stars. While the New York Liberty had very talented players and winning records in past seasons, nothing has compared to this season as Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Courtney Vandersloot, and Jonquel Jones win the toughest of games—all the while setting records for points, wins, and personal milestones.
This past week has featured three big Liberty victories. Last Thursday, the Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun 95–90 in overtime in Connecticut. From there, the team headed to Minneapolis, where they drubbed the Minnesota Lynx 111–76, increasing New York’s record of most games with over 100 points.
On Monday, the Liberty returned home for the team’s second regular season victory over the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces (the Liberty also defeated the Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup). The game marked yet another sellout crowd, words that haven’t been uttered in more than a decade.
“Obviously, we wanted to tighten up things and continue to be the best New York Liberty team that we can be,” said Ionescu, the team’s top scorer against the Aces with 25 points. This was the fourth time this month the Liberty and Aces have faced off, with the Liberty prevailing three times. Ionescu likened it to a playoff series in-season. “It was nice to be able to see how we’ve been able to come out every single game and make those adjustments in real time and continue to get better through these games,” she said.
Vandersloot, who contributed 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, said she felt confident throughout the game that the Liberty had control. “After our slow start, we came back and we really picked it up defensively. I think we were making things hard for them. We were scoring in transition,” she said.
Head coach Sandy Brondello again noted the depth of the team. When Jones got into foul trouble, Stefanie Dolson was able to step in. She also said the team has gelled over the course of the season. “The chemistry is there,” Brondello said. “The more time we spend together, we can work out how we want to execute.”
The Liberty return to Barclays Center tomorrow night to face the Connecticut Sun and then have a very busy final stretch of regular season play before heading into the playoffs. They face the Sun tomorrow in Brooklyn, the Chicago Sky (Sunday) and Dallas Wings (Tuesday) on the road, and then finish with the Los Angeles Sparks (next Thursday) and Washington Mystics (September 10) at home.
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A new era begins for Manhattan College athletics
It has been a time of change for Manhattan College athletics. Last spring, the college announced that certain issues within the athletic department had been reviewed for NCAA infractions. After reaching a resolution, information was released. Over a four-year period from 2018–2022, the college did not maintain an academic certification system that incorporated the appropriate checks and balances from both athletics and academic affairs personnel.
With the matter now addressed, the Jaspers are moving forward, and interim director of athletics Irma Garcia is excited to see the fall sports in action. It has also been a time of change for Garcia, the first-ever Hispanic woman to lead a Division I athletic program. Last spring, St. Francis College in Brooklyn, for which Garcia served as director of athletics for 16 years, disbanded its athletic program.
“I love Manhattan College and I’m excited to be here,” said Garcia. “There are a lot of things I can help with. Most of it is just bringing everyone together and believing that we can move on, win, and be successful. The kids are great. The coaches are great. I love being in the grind, being creative, and making this a really special place.”
Garcia has always been a high energy and creative leader. She’s focusing on the present and future. “Success here doesn’t only mean wins and losses,” she said. “You’ve got to win in the classroom and do community service. I love working with the community. Giving back to each other, [and] helping each other get through some tough times.”
All sports continue. Compliance is now a top priority. “Everybody understands what their role is in order to move the college forward,” said Garcia. “It’s going to work as long as we work together, are transparent and communicate.”
The volleyball team began its season last week at the Wildcat Invitational in Utah. Although the Jaspers did not prevail in their matches, there was tenacious play. This weekend, the team heads to the Red Flash Classic in Pennsylvania. The women’s soccer team has played its first two games of the season, winning one. Tonight, the team is on the road playing Loyola University Maryland.
“We’re here to show people that we care and every program is going to feel the energy,” Garcia said. “I see student-athletes ready to compete at a Division I level.”
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