MLB, NBA join for Asians in Sports Symposium

NEW YORK -- On Thursday evening at Major League Baseball's Commissioner's Office, the company's Asian Business Resource Group and NBA's Asian Professional Exchange co-hosted a special panel discussion entitled "Our Stories of the Game" in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The event was the second annual Asians in Sports Symposium put on by the two groups and featured an hour-long panel followed by a networking opportunity.

The panel was moderated by Hrishi Karthikeyan, who is the NBA assistant general counsel for the Global Partnerships group. Panelists included the NFL's senior vice president of data and analytics Iwao Fusillo, agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas of Wasserman, writer Rohan Nadkarni from Sports Illustrated, MLB's own Kim Ng, senior vice president for baseball operations, and Pablo Torre, writer for ESPN and co-host of "High Noon."

Each panelist brought different perspectives based on his or her job and sport, but with the common thread of Asian heritage. Much of the discussion centered on the individuals' experiences in choosing a professional path and how that led to the sports industry, and how their Asian roots factored into that decision and the experiences they've had since.

Asked what he hoped attendees would get out of the event, Dewey Gong, senior manager of broadcasting operations and co-president of the Asian BRG, said, "I'm hoping that they can see themselves one day possibly as future panelists themselves ... [and] know that no matter where you're at, what title, what position, what sport, that there is a goal and it's just a matter of putting in the hard work and making the connections."

The Asian BRG is one of nine such groups at Major League Baseball that were founded to help employees gather with others who have common interests, identities or care about similar social issues. These groups aid in business development, provide support for employees and create career development opportunities as well as help promote cultural awareness.

The groups are part of Diversity & Inclusion at Major League Baseball, which is overseen by Corey Smith, D&I's senior director.

"The Asian BRG has done a really good job of identifying senior leaders that are Asian across all the leagues of sports," he said after the event Thursday. "We know in baseball what our senior leadership looks like and that we have some success stories here, but their partnership with the NBA and the NFL ... they've been able to really tap into a really vast network of Asians across all of sports. And to hear the different perspectives, yet find the similarities within their stories is really awesome."

One of the goals that both Gong and Bernie Goon, senior manager of special events and the co-president of the Asian BRG, stressed was helping to open attendees' eyes to what's available to them in terms of opportunities and seeing what other Asian individuals have accomplished within the sports industry. The idea of representation -- both on the court, in the media and within executive offices and other parts of sports -- was a common thread among panelists, too.

"I think a lot of times we're so busy with our day-to-days that we don't necessarily think about what happens or how maybe race or your upbringing affects your job or your outlook down the road," Goon said. "I think this kind of brings us back and we kind of realize that we have a responsibility as Asians in the sports business, that we can open doors for others and we can be examples or leaders or mentors for others that are coming up behind us. It kind of puts things in perspective, that there's more to it than just your daily grind, and sometimes you might overlook it because you're so busy."

Goon talked about wanting to get into sports during his time in college, but not knowing where to turn or whom he could go to for help, as there weren't many Asians in the industry that he knew of or could get in touch with. Now, with the Asian BRG and efforts like this one, he's helping to ensure that current and future generations will be able to see others who have been in those shoes for inspiration, and turn to them for help.