There’s an interesting sports story in the news lately about Baltimore Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon taking notes on the sideline during games. Irsay-Gordon is the daughter of the previous owner and, by all accounts, is taking a hands-on approach to her job.
The main reason I’m writing this is because a sport’s writer named Bill Simmons criticized her for doing this and in that criticism wrote this line: If a male owner was doing this, we would be ridiculing this guy till the cows came home. That’s the line I want to talk about, more than the hands-on approach.
An Owner Taking Notes
It’s certainly an unusual situation but hands-on owners are not exactly a rarity in the NFL and other sports. In Simmons’ comparison he mentions Jerry Jones, a notorious hands-on owner, by name.
The background for this is that Irsay-Goron is clearly committed to the team. She reportedly picks up litter left behind in the stadium. She talks to various Indianapolis Colts staffers and stadium personnel fairly regularly. This apparently predates her inheriting the team and the players and staff claim they don’t have a problem with the owner taking notes. This, of course, must be taken with a grain of salt as she is the owner and they are employees.
If it were a Man
My question today is the veracity of Simmon’s argument. Do women owners get kid-glove treatment compared to male owners. I haven’t done an extensive survey but my personal recollection is, no, no they do not. They generally get criticized more heavily. I have some experience in this because the then St. Louis Rams had Georgia Frontiere as an owner. In the first couple of years, when success eluded the team, I remember her coming under an enormous amount of criticism and getting little credit during the glory years.
I think Simmons is completely wrong. I think hands-on owners, note taking owners, interfering owners generally get a pass, particularly if the team is successful. The only time Jerry Jones gets criticized is when the Cowboys fail.
The Colts have ten wins and eleven losses under Irsay-Gordon. Hardly a big sample size but indicative of mediocre performance, hardly terrible. From 2015 to 2024 they accumulated a record of 78 wins and 83 losses. About the same percentage.
I think Irsay-Gordon is getting hammered, in part, because she’s an interfering woman in a man’s game. If it was a man, the tone might be completely different. Look how much he cares! Look at the attention to detail. That’s a dedicated and committed owner.
Conclusion
I think it’s reasonable to ask if Simmons is being unfair in his criticism. I think he’s unfair but you are certainly free to disagree.
Tom Liberman