Posted By:
Todd SchultzI believe Jay's comments were repeated, and I do not believe anyone else thinks otherwise. I do not believe his comments about Mastro rose to any level of seriousness that warrants banishment, and I think those comments were more than tangentially related to sports cards.
You may say that Leon's character was assailed by the Mastro reference. I would agree to some extent, but again, I do not believe it is/was all that personal or serious. Fact is, if you are accepting any remuneration (and I mean anything more than a Happy Meal--certainly $30K would apply)from someone(s) about whom you later render an opinion or endorsement, you are subject to criticism about the objectivity of your opinion. Period. Does that make you an evil person whose opinion must be readily discarded? No, but it does not mean that you are above having your motives questioned either. Hey, with all due respect, Leon solicited opinions about banner ads before taking the step of implementing them, and he was told by some of how it might look and what misgivings others might have about it. He made the choice,and in my view, he has to take the bad with the good. Frankly, it's a logical extension of any conflict of interest analysis, IMHO, and explains why many times people excuse themselves from a position so as to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
Mr. Lichtman, I do not disagree with you when you said Leon got fed up and reacted. My beef is with some notion that it was for the good or at the will of the board. I don't see that at all, and I'd rather it was simply called for what it was. And yes, you are correct, one can disagree with someone and still like them.