In this file photo, Ted Leonsis, Founder & CEO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment and owner of the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals speaks to reporters at a ribbon cutting for the William Hill Sportsbook at Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s …Like many professional teams, the Washington Wizards posted a statement on their social media condemning the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel last week.
The Qatar investment in Monumental Sports was called a “passive” one, according to one NBA source who did not want to be identified, with “no involvement in the operation” of the team. It is not a “traditional business partnership,” said another source familiar with the Monumental organization who asked not to be identified.
“But … now talking specifically about the NBA, where we’re such a global sport, I think people are a little too dismissive these days about the benefits that come from the commonality around sports. That with a sport like basketball — our finals are distributed virtually everywhere in the world, the sport is played everywhere in the world — it’s an opportunity to bring people together.”Qatar may do business with hundreds of American companies.
Qatar is a Middle Eastern nation that has tried to have it both ways — seen as both an ally of Western nations and Hamas terrorists.