Yesterday, I discussed John Lopez’s column from Sunday, in which he introduced a racial angle to the effort by the Houston Dynamo to get a downtown stadium built. Among other things, Lopez said:
[Astros owner Drayton] McLane, whose reputation among minority groups has been less than stellar, recognizes the benefits of backing the plan go beyond the tangible.
This drew a strong response from Astros fan and political consultant Marc Campos:
If minority groups have a problem with Drayton McLane, that’s news to me. It’s also news to minority leaders in H-Town. I don’t know which minority groups Lopez was referring to, I would certainly like to know.
It is kind of BS for Lopez to take this shot at Drayton. Lopez forgets that Drayton worked with the minority community to make sure minorities participated in a major way in the construction of the ballpark. Minorities and women also make up 30% of the food service investment at Minute Maid thanks to a deal Drayton and minority leaders struck in 1999.
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Lopez’ shot at Drayton is irresponsible and downright mean. I know a lot more about minority groups than Lopez. I know whose reputations are “less than stellar” among minority groups. Drayton McLane is nowhere near that list. Drayton McLane is respected by many minority leaders in H-Town and Drayton McLane respects H-Town’s minority community. Lopez would be better off writing about why the Chron doesn’t have any Latino news columnists. Drayton doesn’t deserve to be dissed on this. Shame on John Lopez.
I don’t claim to have a dog in this fight, but it seems to me that if Lopez is going to make a claim about Drayton McLane’s standing among minority groups, he ought to cite some evidence for that. Search through the Chron’s archives, or pick up the phone and get a quote or two, it’s not that hard. Maybe he’s right – Campos didn’t cite any evidence for his assertion about McLane, either – but why should we take his word for it?
On a side note, I disagree with the notion that downtown is the wrong location for Dynamo Stadium. If it’s going to be in Houston and not Sugar Land or the Woodlands, then I think downtown is fine. It will be both more convenient and more attractive than Robertson Stadium, where I presume they’re at least drawing enough of a crowd to be viable. I just think they ought to pay for that downtown stadium themselves.
Facts in DM’s favor:
1. Only female President in MLB
2. Huge supporter of Houston Area Women’s Center
3. Actions back up stances (see: Lugo, Julio)
DM’s record with women is stellar, but maybe they aren’t a “minority” group. That line from Lopez was out of line, period.
Although my memory is fuzzy on this, I believe there was an alleged incident years ago when a local Spanish TV exec said that Drayton had said something about Hispanics didn’t come out to the games and when they did they didn’t spend any money. McLane denied saying it, but Lopez sided with the TV exec and against McLane even though he was not privy to the conversation.