Copyright CBS News
Since the controversial Luka Doncic trade, the calls from fans to fire Nico Harrison subsided, but they never really went away. In turn, that created some trouble when it comes to ticket sales and support for the team. Now, one sports management expert says the Nico Harrison experience can teach a clear lesson in considering the wishes of fans. Fans' chants answered For jaded Dallas Mavericks fans this was the day they've been asking for: Nico Harrison, walking out of the Dallas Mavericks headquarters on Tuesday morning after being fired as the team's general manager. "This is obviously a big day for Dallas Mavericks fans," said TWU professor Dr. David Rylander. "They've been chanting fire nico for quite some time now. So, this is a chance to restart and restore some faith in the new ownership group." Rylander is a marketing professor and expert in sports management at Texas Woman's University. He says fan outrage started with the Doncic trade, spearheaded by Harrison, which set him on a tough path to success. "When you trade away a generational popular player like Luka, and you don't really get fair value in return, that loses the fan base, and that's what happened," Rylander said. "Nico was making decisions in a vacuum, in essence, and not considering the full audience." It's something he says upset the fan base. But, now that the new ownership has sacked Harrison, Rylander expects slumping ticket sales will start going up, and fans' enthusiasm for the team will return. "Now, I think more fans are going to come back because ownership has recognized that was the wrong path to take," said Rylander. Lesson to be learned in sports decisions and fans While the Mavs work on resetting and getting back to a thriving lane, Rylander says there is a big lesson to be learned in the art of making tough sports decisions and appeasing fans. "What we can learn is that you need to know how the fans really feel before you make these major moves," Rylander said. Rylander also believes sponsors have taken note of this saga, and many of them may also be ready to ride the return wave of optimism along with fans.
