Ted Leonsis: A Billionaire Being Bombarded

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis makes himself incredibly accessible to regular Joe the Plumbers Schmoes, either through his Facebook page or his blog or email. But, now he’s realizing that perhaps he was a bit too accessible.

He writes on his blog:

The 3 to 0 deficit also brought out the worst of some folks’ instincts and emails into my inbox so here is what I am thinking: I have made myself incredibly accessible to our fans and I mostly enjoy the interaction but it is becoming apparent that some fans abuse me and have gotten into the habit of just firing off hurtful missives about me personally or about our team; certain players on our team; or our fan base. To be direct, we don’t deserve it and the abuse is probably the reason that most professional sports team owners don’t open their mailbox to fans.

Without more restraint from some of you, I will be forced to shut down my email access. It is making the process of listening to our fan base too noisy and, frankly, it isn’t much fun. Try to enjoy the ride; the team; and respect my time and space. Thank you.

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