Jaguars owner Shad Khan ruffled a few feathers in Jacksonville on Wednesday during the press conference that introduced Mike Mularkey as the third head coach in team history. Khan, it seems, has a very specific idea of what it means to be a “fan” of the team.
“For me a fan is somebody who is a season ticket holder for the Jaguars,” Khan said, via FirstCoastNews.com. “So that is a key definition we need to get out. We want to hear from people, we want a huge amount of constructive feedback. We need input, but we need that from fans who are season ticket holders.”
Khan has since been trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, via radio appearances and emailed statements and comments via intermediaries. Khan’s representative, Jim Woodcock, told FirstCoastNews.com that it was a “joke” and “off-the-cuff” remark.
Some fans are upset, others are willing to give Khan the benefit of the doubt.
Regardless, the comment doesn’t seem like a misstatement or an accident or a joke. It was a candid effort to hinge the privilege of following Khan’s team upon the giving of a large chunk of money to Khan’s team on an annual basis. Even if he never says it again, the fact that he said it once suggests an attitude that could prove problematic, if he doesn’t find a way to conceal the attitude from public view.