Ideally, history leaves nobody out.
No matter how hard you may try, historical memory should serve as the judge, jury and executioner for every individual. History can be the arbiter of justice.
Actually doing that can be tricky. The benevolence of someone like Napoleon Bonaparte is sometimes harder to pin down; even though many serious historians agree he was a ruthless autocrat, his name still draws mixed responses from the French public.
Then there are people like Roman Abramovich: Russian Oligarch and Chelsea F.C. owner.
Abramovich made headlines recently by announcing he would be selling Chelsea due to the rising tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war and his complicated connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin, although he denies any such relationship. Pressure from the global community condemning Putin's invasion of Ukraine led Abramovich to donate the proceeds of this sale to victims of the war.
It's likely the decision to sell the club was out of necessity, as Abramovich feared the storm of criticism about his possible ties with Putin, while the proposed donation to Ukrainian relief is a hollow PR stunt. Yet Abramovich’s immorality extends far beyond the last few months. He has been an unflinching supporter of the destruction of Russian democracy, a billionaire climate criminal and a living bastion of corruption for years. Now that the British government is turning up the heat on possible sanctions, Abramovich is finally revealing to the public his true colors, and this entire ordeal is a consequence of the way ownership structures work in sports.
Team owners profit from enormous yearly dividends, despite some of their attempts to claim owning a team is not profitable, as MLB owners have falsely claimed for years, or about money at all, as Abramovich said in his official statement. Yet many operate without regular press conferences, communication, and act as though they are not involved in team decisions in any significant way.
This shields them from any responsibility to act morally or take responsibility for their words and actions off the field; unlike celebrity athletes, nobody is asking them to mobilize their platforms they have tirelessly worked to discount the importance of. Yet owners are absolutely integral to the day-to-day operations of their teams and should be held to the same standard as athletes and coaches.
Because of this, it takes a meteoric crisis to force an owner out, rather than years of misconduct and depravity. Look at Dan Snyder, the disgraced owner of the Washington Commanders, someone who has managed to retain hold of the team despite countless proven allegations of wrongdoing.
People like Abramovich hide in the annals of history. They pretend their ownership is about passion rather than money, and consistently fail to take responsibility for their shady dealings outside of sports. I believe people should be judged on a holistic basis, not just their worst mistakes. However, when their life encompasses decades of calculated deception and exploitation, forgive me for wanting to bring down the hammer of history down on them.
