As war prompts focus on Russia's "sportswashing," a reminder of how ownership of the Nets helped Prokhorov--and now helps Tsai, too
With Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, there's been a new focus on the notion of "sportswashing"--of nations and individuals using sports success, and team ownership, to burnish their questionable reputations. I haven't used the phrase previously, but in 2010 coverage of the unwisely generous coverage of (then) new Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, I noted that "money cleanses." In retrospect, that New York Times Magazine cover line, An Oligarch of Our Own , and that 60 Minutes profile, The Russian Is Coming , look even more questionable. A contrasting view from journalist Matt Taibbi at the time: "They privatized the jewels of Soviet industry into the hands of a few gangsters, basically... And then, ten, 15 years later, I come back to America and find out that one of them has become owner of the New Jersey Nets." And while Prokhorov has been mentioned up in recent coverage, there are several other examples, notably soccer team owner...