It was 2017. Tensions in the U.S. were high, and Michael Rubin knew it.
Still, the Fanatics CEO, and minority owner of the NBA’s Sixers and NHL’s Devils, saw what was happening to his friend, rapper Meek Mill, and thought it was worth the fight, and all that’d come with it. Mill had been sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating probation, a penalty that, in the opinion of Rubin and many others, far outweighed the crime.
The problem for Rubin was that going to bat for the star musician wouldn’t just mean enduring backlash personally. It’d also make things difficult on those around him, and especially those with the teams he co-owned. Which is why before starting the effort to free Mill, or really do anything related to the case at all, Rubin had to go to the principal owner of those two teams, Josh Harris, for a talk.
“Just about everyone I know told me that I was crazy—d,” Rubin says. “Remember this is 2017, this is not after George Floyd. A lot of people thought it’d be bad for the Sixers. I went to Josh the day it happened. I said,
“And Josh stood up and said, .”
The folks warning Rubin were right. People railed against the teams on social media: They canceled season tickets. They boycotted Fanatics.
Meanwhile, Harris kept his word and kept his feet planted in backing Rubin.
Mill got out of jail after a five-and-a-half-month stay. So when I asked Rubin who his partner is, it didn’t take many words for him to explain it was Harris.
“I think, most importantly, he’s somebody I trust,” Rubin answered. “That’s very important [for an owner], because fans have to trust you. And I trust him. For me to say that, I know you’re gonna use that. I’m putting my reputation on the line for him. I trust him.”
Over the next two days in Minneapolis, NFL owners will discuss the $6.05 billion sale of the Commanders, preparing to drop the curtain on Dan Snyder’s inglorious 23-year run as Washington’s owner, while lifting it on Harris’s stewardship of the once-proud franchise. In a month or two, the transition to Harris and his group will become official. And so over the last week, I’ve called around to try to get to know the private-equity kingpin better.
In the MMQB lead this week, we’re going to introduce you to him.
