Josh Harris owning the Commanders just doesn’t bother me

On By Littum

Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Eagles play the Washington Commies on Thursday night. Does it bother you that Josh Harris owns both the Sixers and the Commanders?

Just so we’re all on the same page here, the ownership groups for the Commanders and Sixers are technically different. The Sixers (and Devils) are owned by Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the Josh Harris + David Blitzer group with limited partners David Adelman, Martin Geller, Marc Leder and Joe Gibbs. The Commander’s ownership is fronted by Harris, but Blitzer is one of 14 LPs, and Adelman, Leder and Gibbs are not involved. So in both cases, Harris is the managing partner, but the groups are not the same.

Anyway, it just doesn’t bother me that Harris owns both the Sixers and the Commies. Devils are anything. Nobody cares about Devils. But to reiterate the key point from the video above, I don’t think the commissioners are receiving anything at the expense of the Sixers. I don’t do that. If anyone can find me proof, for example, that the Commander’s budget was increased as a direct result of money coming out of the Sixers’ budget, then fuck Josh forever, but there is nothing out there to suggest any kind of resource reallocation or to take from the basketball team to give to the football team.

Rhetorical question – what did the Sixers lose when Harris bought the Commanders?

The Sixers have a state-of-the-art practice facility, an assistant manager, two soft tissue specialists, proper support staff, blah blah, etc. They are trying to build a $1.3 billion arena in Center City. Harris put on his gold toe socks and flew to LA to recruit Paul George along with Dr. J and Daryl Morey. So the insinuation that he’s not around because he’s focused on his new toys (the Commissioners) just doesn’t hold up very well. On paper, Morey has what it takes to win a title, and the team just can’t get over the hump and into the conference finals.

What the Sixers’ ownership should provide that is not being delivered is more of a connection with the fans. If Harris could be more like John Middleton and Jeffrey Lurie, then people would feel differently. But he’s not like those guys. He is an awkward businessman who does not speak well in public and does not give the impression that he lives and dies for this, as many fans do. And for that reason alone, there will always be a disconnect between Harris and Philadelphia sports fans as a whole.

That being said, it could be worse. It could be so much worse. When you think about Jay Sugarman, or pre-Dan Hilferty Comcast, or go elsewhere and watch Dan Snyder, the Pittsburgh Pirates, whatever—would you prefer the Sixers ownership to look like that? Josh Harris is fine. He’s not exciting, and has his flaws in the optics department, but when you zoom out and look at the situation from a distance, it’s really not as bad as people make it out to be.