Detroit Pistons Governor Tom Gores Addresses Ad Calling for Team to Be Sold

Detroit Pistons governor Tom Gores responded to an ad taken out in the New York Times calling for him to sell the franchise.

Gores addressed the situation with reporters prior to Saturday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers:

"It hurts. I'm not gonna tell you that it doesn't. I have a family, but then I always kind of look at things and say 'Life's happening for a reason and you're put in that place to make a difference, so maybe that's a blessing.' Then, I also think about people, especially in the African American community who have gone through a lot more judgment and pain than I have. They might judge me a certain way and then I say, 'Get your s--t together, Tom, let's go fight this fight.'"

While the Pistons' on-court product has been lacking in recent seasons, the advertisement asking Gores to sell the team is unrelated to their record.

The Times ad, paid for by nonprofit group Worth Rises, directs people to the WorthRises.org website, which says the private equity firm Gores founded and runs as chairman and CEO, Platinum Equity, "owns one of the nation's largest and most predatory prison telecom corporations: Securus."

Per ESPN's Eric Woodyard, the advertisement in the Times included this line: "If Black Lives Matter, what are you doing about Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores?"

Bianca Tylek, who founded Worth Rises, spoke to Woodyard about the group's advertisement:

"The most important point is that we are three years into his ownership of the company and he's talking about changes now. Like, if that was really sincere and he had plans to do all of those things what has he been doing for three years? And the little that has happened, all happened in the last few months, all happened while the business was in a huge boom because of COVID, unfortunately. Right now, prison visits are shut down."

Per the NBA constitution (h/t Forbes' Leigh Steinberg), governors do have the ability to revoke a member's governorship by a three-fourths vote if the member "fails to fulfill" a "contractual obligation" in "such a way as to affect the [NBA] or its members adversely."

Gores purchased the Pistons in June 2011.