ONE
ONE HOUR.
ONE HOUR. THAT IS THE STORY IN SEATTLE,
CHRIS DANIELS.
CHRIS DANIELS. >>> NOW TO A KING 5 EXCLUSIVE,
A ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW WITH
HOWARD SCHULTZ.
HOWARD SCHULTZ. ALEX ROZIER JOINS US NOW, HE
HAD A LOT TO SAY ABOUT POLITICS
AND ALSO ABOUT THE SONICS,
WHICH IS A TOPIC NEAR AND DEAR
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE.>>
HOWARD SCHULTZ IS A MAN WHO HAS
SAID VERY LITTLE IN SEATTLE IN
RECENT YEARS, HE HASN'T HAD AN
IN-DEPTH LOCAL TV INTERVIEW
AFTER HE LEFT THE CITY ABOUT A
DECADE AGO.
DECADE AGO. WE TALKED ABOUT HIS DECISION TO
SELL THE TEAM.
SOME PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WHAT
TOOK SO LONG? YOU ARE SAYING IT
WAS YOUR BIGGEST PROFESSIONAL
REGRET, WHAT IS YOUR
REACTION?>> THIS IS A VERY
DIFFICULT ISSUE FOR ME AND THE
RELATIONSHIP I HAVE WITH
SEATTLE SPORTS FANS, I WRITE
ABOUT IT WITH GREAT HUMILITY
AND SADNESS, AND I MAKE A VERY
DEEP APOLOGY.
DEEP APOLOGY. I THINK THE LESSON I HAVE
LEARNED WITH REGARDS TO THE
SONICS SITUATION, WHEN YOU HAVE
POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY, YOU
NEED TO SHOW RESTRAINT.
THE COMPLEXITY OF THAT TIME IN
MY LIFE, AND THE PRESSURE I WAS
UNDER FROM OTHER INVESTORS, I
WAS DEALING WITH A LOT OF
DIFFERENT THINGS THAT REALLY
DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE I WAS
RESPONSIBLE, I MADE THE DECISION
, AND I'VE GOT TO PAY THE
BURDEN OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
I REGRET IT, THERE IS NOTHING I
CAN DO TO BRING THE SONICS
BACK.
BACK.
BACK. I
BACK. I NAOVELY THOUGHT THAT THE
PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT THE TEAM
WOULD KEEP IT HERE, THAT DIDN'T
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. >> WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU MADE A
MISTAKE?
MISTAKE?
MISTAKE? >> I THINK I KNEW WITHIN A YEAR
WHEN I STARTED SEEING YOUNG
KIDS WITH SONICS JERSEYS ON,
AND IT REALLY MADE ME REALIZE
THE DEEP WOUNDS OF TAKING A
SPORTS FANS SPORT TEAM AWAY
FROM YOUNG FANS.
>> IT HAS BEEN 12 YEARS, DO YOU
THINK SEATTLE SHOULD JUST GET
OVER IT?>> I THINK SPORTS FANS
HAVE A DEEP LEVEL OF COMMITMENT
, ALMOST A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
WITH THEIR SPORTS TEAMS, AND I
UNDERSTAND THAT.
UNDERSTAND THAT. I HAVE A SIMILAR FEELING WITH
THE YANKEES THAT I GREW UP WITH
WITH MY DAD.
SO I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE CAN'T
GET OVER IT.
I'M DOING EVERYTHING I CAN TO
TALK ABOUT IT OPENLY AND
HONESTLY, AND I APOLOGIZE.>> A
LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL ANGRY,
AS YOU'VE NOTED, YOU CALLED IT
A PUBLIC TRUST, THEN YOU LOST
THE PUBLIC'S TRUST, WHY SHOULD
SONICS FANS STILL SUPPORT YOUR
POTENTIAL CANDIDACY?>> THE
COUNTRY IS IN A VERY, VERY
FRAGILE POSITION.
FRAGILE POSITION. WHEN I THINK ABOUT AMERICA
TODAY, I THINK ABOUT PEOPLE'S
CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
THE COUNTRY SITTING WITH ONE
AND A HALF TRILLION DOLLARS OF
DEBT, AND WE HAVE A BROKEN
EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
ALONG WITH A LEVEL OF DIVISION
AND DIVISIVENESS IN THE COUNTRY
. I THINK MY LIFE EXPERIENCE
GROWING UP AS A POOR KID ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS AND
LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM, I
HAVE A GREAT UNDERSTANDING AND
GREAT EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
FOR THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
WHO ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND.
>> WOULD YOU EVER TAKE PART,
WOULD YOU EVER INVEST TRYING TO
BRING BASKETBALL BACK TO THE
CITY?>> I WOULD DO WHATEVER WAS
ASKED OF ME, TO BRING A
BASKETBALL TEAM BACK TO SEATTLE.
NOBODY HAS SOLICITED MY
OPINION, AS YOU WOULD IMAGINE,
BUT I THINK IT WOULD WE BE
WONDERFUL FOR THE CITY OF
SEATTLE.
SEATTLE.
SEATTLE. I THINK WE HAVE NEW ENTHUSIASM
OF HOW EMBRACING THE CITY, AND
HOW THE CITY HAS BEEN ABOUT THE
HOCKEY TEAM, THERE WILL BE A
DAY HOPEFULLY SOONER THAN LATER
WHEN A BASKETBALL TEAM COMES
BACK.
BACK.
BACK. >>
BACK. >> WILL SONICS FANS FORGIVE
HIM?
HIM?
HIM? THAT
HIM? THAT IS UP TO YOU.
WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF ISSUES
FROM GUN CONTROL TO HEALTHCARE,
AND POSSIBLY RUNNING AS AN
INDEPENDENT RIGHT NOW, ALL OF
THAT IS ON WWW.KING5.COM.
>> SO, DOES HE REALLY BELIEVE
HE CAN WIN AS AN INDEPENDENT?
>> I THINK THE CASE HE IS GOING
TO MAKE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
HE'S GOING TO SAY THERE ARE A
LOT OF AMERICANS RIGHT NOW THAT
ARE A LOT OF EXTREME LEFT AND
EXTREME RIGHT, AND IF THEY CAN
SEE SOMEBODY IN THE MIDDLE,
THEN THEY CAN HAVE A CHANCE AT
WINNING.
WINNING.
WINNING. WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
>> JUST SO PEOPLE DON'T ADJUST
THEIR CLOCKS AT HOME, YOU ARE
NORMALLY ON THE MORNING