Chapter 672 - 54 - s I don’t quite understand_3

Originally in 1988, he was preparing to acquire the third casino, the famous Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

However, at the time, the Trail Blazers were also up for sale, and Tang Jianguo immediately switched targets, deciding to acquire the Trail Blazers.

In just two years, reality proved that this change of choice was very important.

Because besides the Portland Trail Blazers, his other assets had reached the edge of loss and forced sale.

What’s worse, the money used to acquire these assets was mostly borrowed from banks.

Throughout the 1980s, he borrowed over 4 billion US Dollars from banks to expand his business empire.

Now, these real estate projects were in loss either due to poor management or economic shocks.

Tang Jianguo’s loans were definitely irrecoverable, shifting his financial status from "wealthy" to "debt-ridden," not to mention being removed from the Forbes rankings, the major banks also expressed that they would not extend any more credit to him.

In this situation, Tang Jianguo did not handle the matter modestly and quietly pay off debts like other failed businessmen, or sell his only valuable asset—the Portland Trail Blazers.

Instead, Tang Jianguo treated the Trail Blazers as a treasure, mentioning the team more frequently in public and appearing at games more and more.

Tang Jianguo also actively involved himself in social events, expressing his opinions on various public issues, sparking public controversy.

In April 1989, a shocking event occurred in New York that stunned all of America—the Central Park jogger case—a White woman jogging at night in Central Park was violently attacked and violated, sustaining severe injuries.

The New York police immediately arrested six Black teenagers with criminal suspicions who had participated in a riot of over 30 people that evening, later charged in connection with the assault, with one quickly released and the other five charged with the attack and violation.

At that time, although America’s economy was developing rapidly, escaping the weak and chaotic economic quagmire of the late 1970s, and increasingly gaining an advantage in the Cold War,

Another problem became increasingly prominent with high speed development: the growing wealth gap.

Especially in New York, a financial city, the separation between rich districts and poor districts became increasingly clear.

Rich districts enjoyed safe, clean, and warm lives, while poor districts were surrounded by chaos and crime.

New York, claimed to be the center of the universe, was half heaven, half hell; in the poor districts of New York, an average day saw 9 assault cases, 5 murders, 255 robberies, and 194 attacks.

The main perpetrators of crime were undoubtedly Black people, especially uneducated Black teenagers with nowhere to channel their hormones.

Thus after the incident, public opinion fiercely criticized the five suspects; before the police investigation was clear, American media collectively condemned them in articles, criticizing them as wolves, as beasts.

As a New Yorker, Tang Jianguo certainly would not miss this opportunity to express his stance; he simply bought a page in the newspaper and published a slogan regarding the case, demanding the restoration of the death penalty.

(Bring back the death penalty, bring back our police!)

But there remains a question whether the culprits of the case are indeed these five teenagers. Until 1990, the case was still under investigation and no verdict had been pronounced.

However, under the immense pressure of public opinion and the certainty that the five black youths couldn’t afford good lawyers, their fate was almost sealed: they couldn’t escape prison.

In fact, similar incidents occur daily in New York, where more black victims are killed and violated.

But because the victim of the Central Park Five case was a young white female with severe injuries, it garnered significantly more attention than other cases.

Racial discrimination, coupled with the divide between the rich and the poor, is exacerbating the problems of opposition in American society and becoming increasingly severe and apparent.

Old Tang’s big mouth naturally brought some trouble to the Trail Blazers; the NBA, as a commercial league, always dislikes being dragged into cases involving race, politics, and law.

Moreover, there are many black players in the league, visibly increasing, making racial issues a sensitive topic.

Seeking media exposure and to maintain his fame, Old Tang’s acts of recklessly speaking out could one day set the NBA or Trail Blazers ablaze.

On January 5, the Trail Blazers played a home game against the Utah Jazz, and David Stern personally came to Portland to watch the match.

This was Stern’s second visit to Portland to watch a game this season, the previous time being when the Trail Blazers played against the Pistons.

Old Tang invited Stern to watch from the front row, which Stern rejected as he did not want to sit alongside Old Tang.

If the media captured them together and published it in the newspapers, creating big news and criticism, Stern would be in trouble.

Stern sat opposite Old Tang in the audience seats, patiently watching the game— the Trail Blazers easily defeated the Jazz at home, winning the victory; during the game, Gan Guoyang elbowed Karl Malone, breaking his brow bone and causing blood to flow profusely.

Of course, such incidents no longer stirred any feelings in Stern; after all, no one was killed.

After the match, Stern and Old Tang had a secret meeting, of which no journalist captured even a fragment.

Stern has always valued privacy, a stark contrast to Old Tang’s big mouth; many secretive aspects of the NBA’s development have remained undisclosed by Stern.

Not long after their private meeting, just before the 1990 All-Star Game started, the League office announced that the 1992 All-Star Game would be held in Portland.

Previously, considering the development of new markets, the 1990 All-Star Game was held in Miami, and 1991 in Charlotte, hence logically 1992 should have been in Orlando.

However, 1991 still set for Charlotte and suddenly it was declared in advance that 1992 would be hosted by Portland.

Stern explained, "Considering the enthusiasm for basketball in Portland and their significant contributions to the NBA over the past decade, I believe it is necessary to host an All-Star Game here to let people experience the excitement of Portland."

Soon after the League’s decision, Old Tang announced the commencement of a new construction project for the Trail Blazers’ arena, establishing a company named "Jianguo Sports Facilities Construction Ltd." in Portland to handle the fundraising and construction work.

Although major banks had already decided not to issue loans to Old Tang, seeing the endorsement from the NBA All-Star Game and the Portland Trail Blazers, they all came forward, eager to provide loans to Old Tang.

At the same time, Old Tang’s grating voice was also soon absent from the media, he stated: "Regarding legal issues, I don’t understand them well, these should be handled by the police and the courts, please be patient and wait for the results."