Professional Franchises Continue not to partner with Black Accredited Media

By Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

By Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

During my media career in Western New York, I have continued to beat the drums about how our professional sports franchises refuse to patronize Black-accredited media outlets here. This practice has persisted for so long that I fear it has become acceptable for these franchises to neglect forming reciprocal relationships with these outlets. Each of these outlets has media members dedicated to covering these professional teams regularly. They have consistently tried to establish reciprocal relationships with these franchises, but to my knowledge, the franchises don't even bother acknowledging the receipt of multiple proposals.

The next step in this struggle must be to file grievances with the participating leagues, both of which are trying to reach larger audiences. However, our local owners here in Western New York do not seem to take this matter seriously. Unfortunately, to be treated fairly at every level, there must be a form of struggle.

It is important to remember that professional sports entities benefit from huge tax breaks, which allow them to operate with reduced overhead. This fact is often forgotten while we, as the public, help them with their ticket and merchandise sales. The Pegula family seems to have forgotten that our coverage is just as important as that of every other outlet in building a successful product in this market.

The strategy must shift towards making this a league-wide petition, with a focus on Western New York.