Is 49er CEO Jed York Really Accountable To Anyone?
KCBS News Anchor Stan Bunger (who along with KCBS Sports Anchor Steve Bitker are the on-air duo known as KCBS Sports Fans) offers his unique sports analysis.
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - The corporate world loves the word "accountability". Politicians like to toss it around too. And you might have noticed that 49ers CEO Jed York sure seems smitten with the concept.
Feel free to scroll through the transcript of York's post-Harbaugh news conference (thanks to SBNation for the link). You'll see York's repeated assertions that's he's "accountable" or "responsible"—sometimes both, as when he said, "We raise Super Bowl banners. And whenever we don't deliver that, I hope that you will hold me directly responsible and accountable for it."
Gosh, that sounds good. Except it's not really clear how York is to be held responsible or accountable. Corporate executives answer to directors and shareholders. Politicians get re-elected...or not. But who does York really answer to?
Well, it's not you and me and it's not the news media and it isn't the voters (although the ones who live in Santa Clara are on the hook for a big chunk of the cost of Jed's shiny new stadium).
No, it's the York family, which owns north of 90% of the team. In essence, Jed York is accountable to his parents. You can draw your own conclusions.
One other thing about York's performance troubled me. It's the chest-thumping assertion that any season that doesn't end with a Super Bowl win is a failure. In York's words, "We expect to win the Super Bowl every year." He went on to say, "If we don't win a Super Bowl, you SHOULD jump down my throat."
Here's some news, Jed: your throat is likely to be a crowded place. It's one thing to do what it takes to put a sports franchise in a position to win. It's quite another to actually do it. So many things out of your control have to go right—injuries, the performance of other teams, the breaks of the game, referees' calls, etc.
A truly responsible sports executive would set a reasonable goal: "We'll do everything in our power to win, and we'll do it the right way."
Fans get it: there can only be one champion each year. All they ask is that the team they follow gives them a chance to taste that glory. A cynic might suggest that getting crosswise with a winning coach is not the responsible way to do that.
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