In the summary of the loan that the Penguins received as part of the Wage Protection Program, the large number stands out: $ 4,821,785.
That’s how the franchise owner, Lemieux Group LP, received emergency aid from the federal government in early August. The group is, as reported by the New York Post on Sunday, the only major pro-North American sports team to receive a penny.
The other 122 members of the cohort, depending on whether you count the LA Lakers’ hoops-nevermind attempt to get into the first round of action, all seem to have said, “No, we’re good.”
Why and how, the Penguins ended up alone on the island of PPP is everyone’s guess. Could he need so much money? Have the red PR flags raised elsewhere been lost or ignored? Did they climb at all? Are they smarter and wiser than the rest of the professional sports castes?
It could be some of these things. It could be anything. But if you are …