This might not end well for anyone involved. Donald Trump, who was one of the primary reasons for the folding of the USFL back in the 1980’s, is planning on making a run at buying the Buffalo Bills.
Tim Graham of The Buffalo News is reporting that Trump “insists” interest is real on his end…
I’m going to give it a heavy shot…I would love to do it, and if I can do it I’m keeping it in Buffalo. I live in New York, and it’s easier for me to go to Buffalo than any other place…Where am I going to move it, some place on the other side of the country, where I have to travel for five hours?
Please say it isn’t so, The Hair, The Don, or whatever you’re going by these days.
Besides being an absolute blowhard and someone I would consider egocentric, Trump’s previous venture into the world of professional football painted a picture of a man that seemed to care less about the lives and jobs of thousands than his own economic bottom line…a bottom line that now includes $3.9 billion in net worth (via Forbes).
Trump could literally buy any franchise in the professional sports world with the amount of money that he currently possesses. That’s a scary thought for anyone who wants to keep this character out of the sport we love.
Remember, Trump once filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Football League claiming that it had a monopoly with television contracts when the USFL attempted to go up against it during the fall months back in the 1980’s, via Sports Illustrated.
Now he wants to own a franchise in the very same league that he once attempted to bring down with a ridiculous lawsuit. Now he wants to own a franchise in a sport that he has failed miserably at in the past.
Unfortunately for those in Buffalo and around the football world, money talks…and Trump has a ton of money. Let’s just hope that owners around the league see Trump like most of us do. A money-grubbing egomaniac who only looks out for his bottom line. If his experience with the USFL is an example, nothing has changed as it relates to that in over a quarter century.
Check below for ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary on who killed the USFL. It’s worth an hour of your time. Hint, they go hard after Trump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d85gq0tHwPk
Photo: Steve Mitchell, USA Today