Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide, son in law of owner Rich De Vos, resigned as the team’s CEO earlier today, an move Orlando insists is in no way connected to the following story being circulated by Bright House Sports Network’s David Bauman :
Vander Weide confirmed that he made a 1 a.m. phone call in recent days to Magic superstar Dwight Howard (above, middle), and Howard thought Vander Weide may have been intoxicated. On that call, Vander Weide told Howard how much the Magic wanted to keep him in Orlando.
“I was playing paddle with friends and had a couple of glasses of wine,” Vander Weide told BHSN. “Maybe Dwight thought it was inappropriate to talk business after a couple of glasses of wine… Maybe I should have waited until the morning.”
Howard and Vander Weide have always had a solid relationship, according to Vander Weide.
If a sports exec’s final official act on behalf of his employer is to make a drunken plea to the face of the franchise to stay put, I’m not sure who can fault Vander Weide (except for perhaps, fans of human dignity). Still, would it have killed Sandy Alderson to try the same thing?