“Across the sporting institutions with which he is most associated, there was a sense of John W. Henry being everywhere and nowhere last weekend. On Saturday afternoon at Anfield, before Liverpool’s victory over Crystal Palace, the stadium was decorated with yellow cards and an image of him sticking his fingers in his ears. It was a protest at a potential 13 per cent rise in ticket prices over the next three years, depending on inflation, but Henry was not on Merseyside to see it. At the same time that protest was taking place, around 3,000 miles away in Boston, Henry and his executives at the Red Sox, the other crown jewel in the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) sporting empire, were deciding to fire the team’s manager, Alex Cora, along with five coaches. Later that day, Henry, the franchise’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, and CEO Sam Kennedy flew on Henry’s private plane to give Cora and his staff the bad news. But at a press conference the following morning, it was Breslow and Kennedy who confirmed the news to the media. According to The Athletic’s reporting, Henry was present when players were told, but said nothing. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)