The Globetrotters Rise Again
I am living and breathing proof of George Steinbrenner’s interest, passion, and support for people of diverse backgrounds. If it wasn’t for him going the extra mile to help me as a troubled 17-year-old I don’t know where I would be today. We saw so many instances that the public never knew of throughout his life…crossing the streets of Yankee Stadium to give people down on their luck a chance, supporting playground builds in the city, and making sure that people who worked on every level of the organization had a chance at success…and that’s what made “The Boss” such a great leader.
Those efforts to lift diverse communities and give athletes a chance also manifested themselves in programs the Yankees supported, and still support, for decades; Little League programs in the Bronx, MLB’s inner city baseball programs, the Whitney M. Young Classic which brought HBCU schools to the Stadium to play college football and raise funds for scholarships, and on and on.
I was thinking about those programs when I attended the Harlem Globetrotters game last week at Madison Square Garden. The Globies are an organization Mr. Steinbrenner loved, because they stood, and still stand for, all things about empowerment, teamwork, and fun, as well as spreading the messages of success to a global audience. Now some may see the Globetrotters as a legacy brand…something which is quaint and had a place in the past but not today in the 24/7 news cycle of today?
Well, don’t tell that to Keith Dawkins, the Globetrotters CEO, who joined the organization less than two years ago after a storied media career that included a long run helping re-envision the Nickelodeon brand. Also don’t tell that to the almost 12,000 fans who showed up for the team’s return to the Garden for the first time since the Pandemic, many of whom were young faces of every color who were experiencing the antics and the athleticism of the Globetrotters for the first time.
Dawkins has reimagined the Globetrotters from less of a touring circus to more of a media business. They have a show that draws record numbers both on NBC on Saturday morning, and of particular interest to me, on Telemundo, where a basketball-savvy Latino audience is being missed by the NBA and the WNBA…an audience that we love in baseball. The Globetrotters also have found a way to grow the elite side of women’s basketball, now with seven athletes playing for their three touring teams. One of them, Alexis Morris, who was the captain of LSU’s national champions last year, scored her first basket to raucous cheers at The Garden and is helping build another of Dawkins’ ideas…that playing for the Globetrotters during the WNBA offseason here in North America is now a viable alternative to playing abroad when “The W” is not in season.
The organization is also growing its digital and social footprints while making sure they bring great community messages to every stop they make, all as they builds towards their 100th anniversary in 2026.
“Our goal is to make the Globetrotters viable and relevant to all, whether you watch TikTok videos, play women’s basketball, or love a good show in person,” Dawkins mentioned to me during a packed post-game meet and greet. “There are few people around the world who do not know the Globetrotters name, now we have to build a broader relationship that is fun and consistent for the future, and that’s a lot of fun to do.”
Community. Media. History. Relevance. Fun…and winning. Things that Mr. Steinbrenner always espoused, and the Yankees organization still points toward as we head toward 2024. The Globetrotters and the Yankees have lots in common. I saw it at Madison Square Garden, and I will be checking it out again soon, just like millions of others around the world. A brand that is not relevant? Guess again. The Globies, like the Yankees, are just getting started again.
