RJ White, owner of the ABA professional basketball team Vipers, has been on a mission since the age of six, creating opportunities for players while supporting and uplifting the community.
How long have you been interested in the game of basketball? What was your first venture into the sport?
Interested? I have been interested since the age of six. I might be revealing my age here, but I remember when my parents bought their first color television. The first thing they started playing was the behind-the-scenes of the Lakers, the Pistons, pretty much all the NBA teams. The clips were short, and I remember always feeling like we need to see more.
This was me at six years old. I felt like I needed to own one of these teams so I could get more of this kind of footage out there… My dad once told me that if you want to change something, you can’t change it from the outside. You can’t change it by complaining. You have to become a part of it. Along with my mom, they were the first people to encourage me to own a team. At six years old, I was walking around like I owned the Lakers. No one could tell me otherwise.
So, that is what led you to aspire to own a team? That’s amazing.
Yes, it was the lack of behind-the-scenes content at the time. A child’s imagination is incredible. It is incomparable. A child will tell you the utmost truth and they will tell you what they feel you are missing. The more I watched, the less I saw what I was looking for. Back then you saw a short interview and a few b-roll clips of the locker room, but you didn’t get to see speeches or the conversations. At six, I wondered how the practices went. Why do we not see the players interacting with each other? Where was the real behind-the-scenes content? This is what inspired me to use the 1940s and 1950s marketing strategies.
Tell us how those strategies are being implemented today.
Today, everybody is on social media. If you think about it, back in the day, you had a lot of people focused on newspapers. In the 40s and 50s, that was what it was all about—the black and white newspaper on your front porch. Everything you needed to know at the time was in there. Well, today people may not depend on newspapers that much, but they’ve been replaced by smartphones. I have adopted a practice of putting everything as far as content out there as much as possible.
Are there specific things you look for when acquiring coaching staff and players?
As far as the coaching staff, I look for discipline… We are a defense-oriented team. Who knows more about defense than the United States Navy? My coach is a Navy veteran who ran the Navy team. He’s traveled all over the world. We actually defeated them once which made me feel great and we were moving in the right direction… When we met them, he wanted to know who was this team that came into his house and beat him. That’s what made me hire our current coach. I like his work ethic, his grit, and his fearlessness.
When it comes to players, most will find that you must have a strong sense of community. You can’t just play for the Vipers if you don’t want to sign autographs or give kids high-fives. Times have changed as to where the players feel as though they are superstars while forgetting that it is because of the fans. For our guys, you can be superstars, but you are going to interact with your fans because, without them, you would not enjoy the luxury of being a brand. Community service is a requirement to play for the Vipers. We want you to be a part of the community. I want them to be good mentors. What they post on social media matters whether seeing the impact or not. We want them to maintain a positive image at all times.
What are some of the other things you expect from the players?
I expect them to show up and make sure they are seen. What I mean by that is just because you are physically at practice, that doesn’t mean you are showing up. By showing up, I mean that you are fully immersed and focused. When they come onto the court for the Vipers, they have to be willing to give 150%. We play some very competitive teams so we need to make sure we can not only compete but win. They must have the mindset to dominate and win.
How would you describe your leadership style from the position of being an owner?
It is important to be able to delegate responsibilities and allow people to do their respective jobs. I have worked for other people at times in my life and I did not like when people would micro-manage me. If you hire me to do a job, you have to trust me to do it. I have adopted that practice with my staff which I have 241 employees. When you have this many people, I could not micro-manage them even if I wanted to do it. However, you can make sure you are informed, and you can make sure you are involved without looking over their shoulders. Anytime there is an issue, I have an open-door policy, so it’s brought to my attention. My goal as a leader is to create a safe, open, and fun work environment.
That’s something to be valued and appreciated. Describe some of the challenges you have faced.
One of the biggest challenges is that when you have a dream and expectations of where you want to be or go, the people around may not see your vision, believe in you, or understand how long it takes to accomplish your goals. You may feel like you can conquer the world while other people may have their doubts. I would say that my biggest challenge has been knowing what I could do when, in the early stages, a lot of people didn’t believe it until I became successful.
I think the best advice I could offer someone is to remember it is your vision and few will understand or believe it’s possible until you show them.
That is absolutely true. When you have a dream, it is your responsibility to see it through. What does a typical day at the office look like for you?
I am a mom, so I wake up early and tend to my little people (laughing) first. Afterward, there’s a whole lot of conference calls and emails. Right now, I probably have over 134,000 emails that I have to clear out. Not to mention, my day is filled with text messages and phone calls from my staff. We are about to start our season, so we are having conversations with the municipalities, sporting venues, and sponsors as well. My workday can get pretty long, sometimes ending around 9 or 10 pm. There are times during the season where you’re not going to bed until the early hours the next day, only start all over again. But if you ask me if it’s worth it, my answer will never change—always.
