The Philadelphia 76ers have partnered with MIT and the Pennsylvania-based HBCU Cheyney University to invite students from Cheyney to a sports business bootcamp at the Sixers facility in Camden, NJ.David Gould, Chief Diversity and Impact Officer at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, sat down with DNA to speak on the genesis of the business bootcamp and how his work entails driving diversity, equity, and inclusion into spaces where opportunities for minorities are far and few.
“My role was created back in 2020 — after George Floyd’s Murder, alot of different like to put out statements on social media talking about their commitment to social and racial justice, and racial equity.” Gould said. “We did the same thing, but one thing I really respect about our managing partners is that they said ‘We’re not going to say anything else until we actually figure out what we’re going to do about it.”
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Since then, HBSE has been working nonstop over the past three years to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion to minorities and small black owned businesses. Gould’s proudest achievement was the launch of HBSE’s Buy Black Program. This program identifies small black business in the community and selects them to be partners with the 76ers organization for the year.
“The unfortunate reality is that we don’t have a lot of Black owned businesses that can afford to cut checks the size that we’re accustomed to, to have a partnership with an NBA team” Gould explained. “So we are essentially donating that service and opportunity to promote a Black owned business, knowing the disparities that exist between Black owned businesses, and the rest of the business community.”
HBSE recently partnered with MIT to hold a Sports Business Bootcamp. The objective of the program is to utilize MIT resources to provide an immersive experience for Cheyney students to problem-solve business challenges based on Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment – the sports management company behind assets including the Sixers, New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center – and develop solutions. Nearly two dozen students are participating in the week-long program, which organizes students into three groups focused on three distinct business challenges.
Check out the full interview!
Take a look at some of the moments captured from the Business bootcamp below!
