When I was a freshman at Wharton, I figured I'd shoot for the stars and apply for a summer internship for a professional sports team. I ended up sending out a bunch of resumes and cover letters, and actually got a call back from the New Jersey Nets. I had a chance to interview for an internship in the front office, and I remember talking in my interview around how Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson might be an intriguing focus of marketing efforts. Unfortunately, my father absolutely forbid me to enter the field of sports management, calling me naive and telling me, "there are no Asians who succeed in this field, what makes you think you'll be the first?" The dream over, I ended up working at Wyeth instead and the rest is history. I love my dad, but that wasn't exactly the "reach for your dreams, son - I believe in you" moment that I'll be sharing at his next milestone birthday or eulogy.
However, there is a pioneer in Kim Ng, the assistant GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers who was previously the assistant GM of the Yankees. Ng is highly esteemed in the industry and is a strong favorite to be both the first female and first Asian to become a GM of a major professional sports team. She also gained some (probably) unwanted publicity when then-Mets scout Bill Singer made some racist remarks to Ng during an off-season baseball meeting. She handled the episode with class, Singer was appropriately canned, and life went on.
Ng emerged as a strong candidate for the open GM position for the Seattle Mariners, and while it looked like the fit would've been intriguing on a couple of levels - in addition to being highly qualified, she'd be working in large Asian market for a team with Asian ownership (Nintendo). Alas, the Mariners announced today that they hired another guy, and the bamboo ceiling remains intact.
Keep at it, Kim. I'm still rooting for you on behalf of all the Asian sports geeks who didn't get their shot.
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