4 MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ MIAMI BALL HOG MARLINS FANS CALL OUT DAVID SAMSON FOR GASLIGHTING THE TEAM’S FANBASE. BY RYAN YOUSEFI I t’s no secret that the Miami Marlins have had a tumultuous history, with fre- quent changes in ownership, manage- ment, on-field talent, and end-of-season results — all of which has served to de- stabilize the fanbase. We all know Miami isn’t the greatest base- ball town. “Unhappy Marlins Fans” isn’t a newsy headline. What is and continues to be newsworthy is that one of the more controversial figures in the franchise’s downfall and horrid reputa- tion with local sports fans — David Samson, former president of the franchise — has man- aged to spin up a side hustle commenting on the Marlins’ mistakes while ignoring the fact that he is to blame for a fair share of fanbase disillusionment (along with his former boss and stepfather, erstwhile Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria). David Samson opining about Miami Mar- lins fans failing to fill LoanDepot Park feels a little like Kanye West appearing on a guest panel to workshop ways to fight anti-Semi- tism. Yet here he comes again, exhibiting his ha- bitual lack of self-awareness in a recent inter- view with the media outlet Front Office Sports. “I think that the demographics of Miami would indicate it’s a wealthy city, but it’s got one of the lowest incomes of any of the Major League cities,” Samson opined in his inter- view with FOS as to why more Marlins fans don’t buy tickets. “You’d think there is more corporate sup- port, but there isn’t. You’d think there are more fans, but the truth is those fans that come out for the WBC (World Baseball Clas- sic) doesn’t translate — we tried for over a de- cade to have it translate, but it didn’t.” “It’s possible that Miami is simply not a baseball market.” Wow — there is a lot to unpack here. Pointing out that Miamians aren’t as rich as depicted in the movies? Bombshell news: Miami has consistently ranked at the bottom when it comes to U.S. income and poverty levels — and that was before rent prices and, well, almost everything else that has skyrock- eted amid recent inflation. As far as corporate America not being as interested in spending their advertising money on the Marlins as some other teams, both locally and across MLB, it would be logi- cal to assume this is a chicken before the egg situation, or better yet, a scenario that begs the question: if an ad appears on a ballpark, but no one is watching, was there ever an ad to begin with? Samson also observed that the massive, enthusiastic crowds supporting their home countries during the 2023 World Baseball Classic have yet to translate to Tuesday after- noon tilts against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Don’t they love baseball?! Given Samson’s track record, it’s hard to take his advice seriously. He (and Loria) played an outsized role in putting the Marlins at the bottom of the steep attendance hill the team is now attempting to climb. His constant team teardowns and ques- tionable front-office decisions are precisely what disillusioned many Miamians who grew up Marlins fans. His machinations in extract- ing millions of dollars from the city, then call- ing Miamians stupid and bragging that he didn’t care whether fans came out because the checks already cleared, might ex- plain the empty seats. Under Samson’s leadership, the Marlins traded away some of their best players and struggled to field a competitive team. Fans were frustrated by ownership’s lack of investment, and attendance at Marlins games consistently ranked among the lowest in the league. Given this history, it’s hard to see how Samson is qualified to offer advice as to how the Marlins can draw more fans. But hey, that didn’t stop the Dan LeBatard- led Meadowlark Media from giving him a mi- crophone and a sweet deal to do just that. None of this is to say David Samson has the power to fill LoanDepot Park. That task falls to the team’s current ownership, which has yet to invest anything close to what the mar- ket demands when it comes to competing for an NL East title, much less a championship. Miamians come out for a winner — or, at the very least, to watch a team with a chance at winning. Expecting fans to come out to the ballpark for 80-plus games to watch a sport currently working to implement ways to be less boring might be realistic in Milwaukee but not in Miami. | RIPTIDE | Photo by John Parra/Getty Images ▼ MIAMI JOE SHOW MUST GO ON CAROLLO TRIAL MOVES FORWARD DESPITE JURY-TAMPERING CLAIM. BY ALEX DELUCA T he trial in an abuse-of-power lawsuit against Joe Carollo is trucking along de- spite his claim that a partner of the plain- tiffs tried to tamper with a juror. The case was brought by Bill Fuller and Mar- tin Pinilla, who say Carollo abused his power as Miami city commissioner by vengefully directing municipal employees to target the duo’s busi- nesses over a personal vendetta. Carollo asked for a mistrial this week, claim- ing one of Fuller’s business partners, Zack Bush, tried to convince a juror to do online research about Carollo during the trial. Carollo’s motion claims that after court proceedings concluded on April 20, Bush followed the juror into a park- ing garage elevator and, upon exiting, urged the juror to go on the internet and social media to “see what this defendant is capable of,” which would have violated the court’s directive to ju- rors to steer clear of online coverage. Bush co-owns Mad Room Hospitality and Ball & Chain with Fuller, according to his profes- sional profile. He is not a party to the case against Carollo. The juror denied engaging with Bush, accord- ing to Carollo’s pleading. Presiding district court judge Rodney Smith allowed the case to move forward but told jurors to disregard the incident and abide by court rules about independently re- searching the case, according to a Local 10 report. Bush has not responded to New Times’ request for comment. Carollo’s trial in the Southern District of Flor- ida kicked off April 10 and has since featured heated testimony from ex-city manager Emilio Gonzalez and former Miami Police Chief Art Ace- vedo, among a laundry list of municipal higher- ups. Gonzalez and Acevedo attested to incidents where they said the city singled out Fuller and Pinilla’s Little Havana restaurants for code violations. Fuller and Pinilla filed the case in 2018, accus- ing the commissioner of mounting a campaign of targeted harassment, siccing code enforce- ment and city employees on Ball & Chain (a lounge with a storied history in Little Havana), Union Beer Store (a craft beer bar), and San- guich de Miami (an eatery that serves Cuban sandwiches). Fuller says Carollo had a vendetta against him in part because Fuller supported Carollo’s political opponent in a 2017 run-off election. The lawsuit accuses Carollo of stalking the parking lot of Ball & Chain and proclaiming, “I am the law!” to an employee. Fuller and Pinilla say Carollo’s actions violated their First Amendment rights and cost them millions of dollars in profits. The commissioner’s attorneys have pointed to what they claim were legitimate code viola- tions at the duo’s businesses. One of Carollo’s attorneys, Benedict Kuehne, previously told New Times that the lawsuit was a baseless case “brought by local business owners who continue to refuse to comply with the laws applicable to all business owners in the City of Miami.” The case plodded through pleading stages in federal court for three years while Carollo’s at- torneys attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that their client was protected by quali- fied and legislative immunity, legal principles that protect police and elected officials from be- ing sued personally for actions on the job. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled against Carollo on key im- munity issues in February 2022, clearing the way for a trial. [email protected] GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS “IT’S POSSIBLE THAT MIAMI IS SIMPLY NOT A BASEBALL MARKET.” Former Marlins president David Samson seems to be suffering from terrible amnesia.
