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Commentary: Lerner’s record with Browns is what’s ‘pathetic’

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By Sean McClelland, Staff Writer 10:03 PM Friday, January 27, 2012

Tony Grossi, who has covered the Cleveland Browns for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer for decades, has been removed from the beat following a Twitter mishap. Yes, a Twitter mishap.

“He’s a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world,” Grossi tweeted about Browns owner Randy Lerner, apparently not intending this for worldwide consumption.

Grossi’s work often appears in these pages and will be missed, but the true tragedy here is that Lerner, one of the least successful sports owners in the past 10 years, seems to have become something of a sympathetic figure in all this.

That’s got to trouble any Browns fan still holding out hope of Lerner selling the Browns (to local investors, preferably) before they are left as the only NFL franchise (they are currently one of four) never to play in a Super Bowl.

I don’t know enough billionaires to determine where Lerner ranks on the relevance scale, but I do know the Browns’ record since he inherited the team from his father in 2002 is far closer to “pathetic” (56 wins, 105 losses, one playoff appearance) than not. And I do know that even fans of the British soccer team Lerner bought a few years back are grumbling about his failure to deliver a winner. Midas he isn’t.

No, Lerner didn’t draft Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn or Colt McCoy. And he doesn’t formulate game plans or call plays. But when a team is mired in mediocrity this long, fingers need to be pointing upstairs.

It’s almost as if there should be a limit on how long one person can own a franchise without elevating it from the depths of despair.

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2408 or  smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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