Washington Wizards are one of the worst-run franchises in the NBA. They are the epitome of the Eastern Conference, a floundering team with high hopes, large operating expenses, and middling performances on the floor. That’s without considering the kind of playoff woes they have had over the past two decades.
Part of that issue was the management to Ernie Grunfeld, who was fired on Tuesday. Grunfeld was the president of the Wizards and worked for the team for 16 years. The front office during that time was clearly outmatched, and so it made sense that owner Ted Leonsis decided to move in a new direction. Finally.
Of course, fans on social media have been celebrating all day and one of the most interesting stories has been how one Wizards ticket representative decided it to use Grunfeld’s firing to their advantage.
According to Wizards fan Alan Pyke, he had told a ticket rep to call him when Grunfeld was fired as sort of a joke earlier this year. Pyke and then received a call on Tuesday to purchase tickets from that representative after Grunfeld was canned.
Via the Washington Post:“Grab a pen and take this down,” he said. “As soon as they fire Ernie Grunfeld, I’ll be at the next home game.”
The Wizards parted ways with Grunfeld, the beleaguered team president, on Tuesday, and moments after the announcement went public, Pyke’s phone rang.
It was the ticket saleswoman, holding him to his word. He purchased seats to the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. It was part of a spontaneous celebration of Grunfeld’s departure after 16 years.
“This is the least [the Wizards] could do,” Pyke said.
I bet the guy who came up with Salesforce never thought that it would be used to track a request like this.
Now if only the Wizards could fire John Wall’s contract they might really be happy.
