ESPN offers a cautionary tale about the dangers of Las Vegas casino executives damaging or destroying their brands by offending their core customer base. But more importantly, this is a danger to the entire brand of Las Vegas.
Vegas and ESPN have much in common. ESPN has committed suicide with its obsession with liberal, progressive, politically-correct beliefs.
The fact is Vegas’ core audience is exactly the same as ESPN’s. Vegas’ audience has three key demographics.
- Middle America. Overwhelmingly this group voted for Donald Trump.
- Conventioneers. This group is composed of business owners, business executives and white-collar employees. Overwhelmingly this group voted for Donald Trump.
- Casino and sports gamblers. I know this group as well as anyone in the world. Long before I got into politics, I was dubbed by the media as “America’s Oddsmaker” and “the King of Vegas Sports Gambling.” I’ve studied my customers in detail for 33 years. Sports and casino gamblers are overwhelmingly male, white, macho and patriotic. These are the people who ALWAYS stand for the national anthem. Overwhelmingly this group voted for Donald Trump.
ESPN has the same audience and core demographics. ESPN’s President John Skipper is a big-time liberal. He has damaged his brand and ruined his revenues with his arrogance and ignorance about his own audience. ESPN is dying. Cable subscribers are dramatically down. Ratings are dramatically down. Revenues are in the toilet.
ESPN has awards shows that define “courage” as athletes who used to be men, who changed into women. ESPN has anchors who call President Trump a “white supremist” who “was elected only because he’s white.” ESPN removed a football broadcaster named Robert Lee because they were afraid his name would offend black people. He’s an Asian. ESPN fired Curt Shilling for his conservative politics. Outspoken Republican and former NFL great Jason Sehorn was told “to stay away from politics.” ESPN suspended legendary anchor Linda Cohen for saying in an interview that liberal politics has damaged ESPN’s ratings.
But ESPN says nothing when liberal hacks like Jemele Hill and my old TV co-host Max Kellerman outrage ESPN viewers with their radical liberal views. Kellerman recently opined that it’s a “disgrace” that not one white NFL player has kneeled for the national anthem. That could be the dumbest thing ever said in the history of American business- if alienating and destroying your own customer base is important.
ESPN President John Skipper has poisoned his brand. He has offended his own customer base. Sports fans tune into watch sports, NOT to be lectured on Trump, racism and climate change.
I hope the Board of MGM Resorts International is paying attention. Your CEO Jim Murren is a John Skipper clone. Just like ESPN, there is a mutiny brewing at MGM. Many MGM employees have contacted me. Some have anonymously called my talk radio show. One came to my home to hand deliver the latest company policy on transgenders. Like ESPN employees, conservatives at MGM feel discrimination, intimidation, and intolerance. They fear losing their jobs.
Do you think MGM’s middle American customer base would be happy to find out you can be openly transgender at MGM, but you have to be a closet conservative?
MGM employees are outraged and sickened by Murren’s actions and statements. By his donations to CAIR- an organization tied to Muslim terrorism and called by experts “a front for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.” By his donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that recently put 3 of America’s most famous military bases on their “Hate List” (Ft Bragg, Ft Hood, Ft Benning). But Mr. Murren’s employees are most outraged over his troubling “Transgender Policy” announced only a month ago. MGM employees believe their CEO is putting the lives of female guests and their children at risk. They predict there will be a tragedy at a MGM property because of this dangerous transgender policy.
If 45 million Vegas tourists start to understand MGM supports Muslim terror co-conspirators…radical leftist groups that define US military bases as “hate groups”…and bans employees from questioning 300-pound men who walk into women’s bathrooms, locker-rooms and spas…Vegas will go the way of ESPN.
Be very careful MGM. Jim Murren is putting your brand at risk. And by association, he is putting the entire brand of Vegas at risk.
