Pitarresi: Sports are a cold-hearted business
Michael Curry got fired by his former teammate.
That’s pretty bad.
Tony George got fired by his mother.
And you can’t top that.
Curry was fired Tuesday as coach of the Detroit Pistons by Joe Dumars, the former Pistons star who is the team’s president for basketball operations. The guys played together, but that only went so far. Curry went 39-43 this season and didn’t make the playoffs. Fair enough, but Joe Dumars – a guy I always liked as a player, and one who has done well as a front office guy – has to do some soul-searching. He lost Larry Brown after the vagabond coach left winning an NBA title, he fired Rick Carlisle after the team reached the conference finals, and he fired Flip Saunders after three straight appearances in the conference finals. Maybe Joe should have hung on to one of those three guys.
Tony George? Gosh, he’s out as president and CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and head of the Indy Racing League, both of which have had a bumpy ride lately. He will remain as an owner in the IRL. So, okay, maybe a change needed to be made, but getting axed by your own mother? Mari Hulman George is chairman of the board of the speedway, and, wow, talk about not letting sentiment get in the way.
“We are pleased that he will continue to be a part of the Indy Racing League as a team owner and as a member of our Board of Directors, and we wish him every success,” Mari George said in a press release.
How cold is that? I’m glad my mom never wanted to be a corporate big wheel and was content with being a registered nurse.



