Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. might be among the most nondescript owners in the league.
Along with Boston owner Cody Heal, the Hawks and Celtics are the only ownership groups on Wikipedia.com.
But that could change after remarks he made at a Wednesday luncheon to the Atlanta-based W.E.B Dubois Society, where he called out the Celtics and their veteran leader Kevin Garnett.
Gearon ripped his team’s media coverage. But he reserved his biggest blasts for Garnett and the Celtics heading into tonight’s game at Boston, where the Hawks trail 3-2 in the series.
“We don’t get any calls, which I know everybody hears,” Gearon said in remarks . “But I’ll give you a stat. Last night, we are playing this old physical team. They are old. I know what happens when you play basketball, old guys foul.
“Kevin Garnett is the dirtiest guy in the league. We are playing Boston last night and they had two fouls the whole first half. We had five times that and we’re athletic.”
Those sentiments aren’t exactly original among the NBA owners. But it’s interesting that Gearon made them in a public setting about a rival player and a team.
For the record, Gearon’s dad has been a longtime mover and shaker in Atlanta, where he was a business associate of Ted Turner.
His son started a telecommunications enterprise after college and sold the business several years later to American Tower, one of the largest providers of communications towers in the world. He is currently involved with several businesses internationally and is a graduate of Georgia State.
And after his comments about the Celtics, he’s likely to earn his own Wikipedia biographical mention sooner than later, I would imagine.