Sports business veteran Jeffrey Pollack reflects on Gary Bettman, whom he has known since the two were children on Long Island.

Sports business veteran Jeffrey Pollack reflects on Gary Bettman, whom he has known since the two were children on Long Island.

Of all the people in the sports business who knew Gary Bettman during his 30 years as NHL commissioner – an endless list covered only by his fellow commissioners. NHL team owners and executives; League partners; And his colleagues in the office – no one has known him for a long time, or like Jeffrey Pollack.

Pollack and Bettman are half-brothers, sharing the same mother. Bettman, now 58, is 12 years older than Pollack, but the two lived together in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens and Dix Hills on Long Island. “There are countless fond memories with Gary before the world knew him, and one he cherishes now is the memory of going to hockey games with him at Commack Arena near our home in Dix Hills,” Pollack said. “This was sometime before 1975, so there were ducks and cougars back then. I was no more than 10 years older and certainly neither of us knew where his love of hockey would lead him.

Bettman has been a source of fraternal advice for Pollack.Sarah Merian

It eventually led him to the top of the sport. In the year In 1993, the same year Bettman became NHL commissioner, Pollack asked his brother to share his idea for a product that would bring news from the sports business world directly to residents.

“Gary was at Sports Business Daily early on and long before we started,” Pollack recalled. “When I came up with a wild idea for The Daily in 1993, I shared it with Gary—who immediately suggested I talk to David Stern and get his perspective. I’ll never forget how David lovingly told me that there wasn’t enough news to fill the dailies and that if anyone did, no one would pay for it. This was David’s way of testing my faith, and telling me I was wasting my time, one of his legendary motivational techniques in action. In me, David was wrong, the rest is history. Gary knew what he was doing by sending it to David. He went straight into the lion’s den to see me emerge in one piece.

Gary suggested that I contact Arthur Pincus, the NHL’s vice president of public relations and formerly of Sports Inc., a short-form monthly publication. I vividly remember the first time I met Arthur at Gary’s new NL office. And what I learned from Arthur helped shape my thinking about The Daily’s Editorial Strategy. Here too Gary’s touch made all the difference. And then when we opened The Daily in 1994, Gary couldn’t have been more supportive, helpful and encouraging. He was there in the beginning and all the time we started into the industry, so he definitely gets credit for the win. Take it a step further and if it weren’t for Gary Bettman, The Daily might just be an idea in my head.

Over the next three decades, Pollack became a leader in the sports business world. He worked in the NBA and NASCAR before landing at the World Series of Poker, eventually becoming commissioner in 2005. In the year In 2019, he was president and COO, later CEO, of the reborn XFL.

All this time he and Bateman had an unbreakable brotherhood. “There’s rarely a 48- or 72-hour period where we don’t talk to each other and go in anyway,” Polk said. “Whether he calls me or I call him, we talk twice a week and sometimes more. The issue has been a good number over the years. We see him a lot every week between the holidays and of course going to hockey games and NHL All-Star weekend with Gary and Shelly has been part of our mix. I also occasionally visit his office to say hello or to seek his broad perspective and sage advice on my own professional matters. I’ve considered myself lucky and fortunate to have had Gary as a speaker and a bit of a mentor over the years, and he hasn’t let me down.

Better to ask, then, who is Bettman out of a job? As it turns out, there is no easy answer.

“If you know Gary, you know he never shies away from work,” Pollack said. “The NHL is his passion and his life’s work, and his wiring is a complete and selfless commitment. That said, outside of the office it’s always family first for Gary and Shelley throughout the partnership. He is a devoted and loving husband, with Shelli he has raised three extraordinary and successful married partners who are all equally amazing, and Gary is a dedicated ‘Pa’ to their seven wonderful grandchildren. And, as far as brothers go, it’s world class and fully available.