Dominique Wilkins joins Legion Ownership Group

If surfing on Twitter or watching Stephen A. Smith’s First Take on ESPN is not your way of spending a workday morning, then you may not have heard the news coming out of Legion HQ today.

NBA Hall of Famer Dominque Wilkins has invested in the Birmingham Legion. Details of the value of his investment were not disclosed, but the money may not be the most important part of bringing him on board.

Wilkins got into contact with the Legion by way of his involvement with KultureCity, an organization dedicated to providing accommodations at various locations for people with what they refer to as “invisible disabilities”. These include PTSD, autism and strokes, to name just a few. This involves training programs as well as sensory rooms and tents at cultural and sports venues. Protective Stadium has such a room. KultureCity is based in Vestavia and has a significant presence not just in Alabama but nationwide. Wilkins serves as their Board Chairman and was put in contact with the Legion by the organization’s local founder, Dr. Julian Maha (you can read his story here).

KultureCity’s logo will apparently be added to the Legion kit, so new merch incoming, I guess.

Anyway, this is important for several reasons. First, adding a nationally known sports legend (does anyone not like the Human Highlight Film?) to the club is important for visibility, obviously. And likely for the USL as a whole too; I can’t immediately think of anyone with such wide name recognition being involved with the league before).

Second – and to be honest, this is probably the most important part – the team is taking a big leadership role in assisting fans with serious difficulties. Sensory accommodations go well beyond what is required under the ADA. Will the rest of the league – and other leagues – follow suit? I certainly hope so, and if they don’t, well, shame on them.

Third, the money. As we noted, we don’t know how much, but Wilkins is obviously not short of cash. On First Take he made reference to a “new facility”, which is the training facility that has been in the planning stages for quite some time now. But that rather implies it would be happening with or without him. Consider instead the timing of this announcement. The summer transfer window is open more or less worldwide. Will the money help to get us some new talent? Hmmm.