"Basically, he said all the things the company had hyped on his watch were not going to happen for a variety of reasons."

Now he makes those very mistakes?

One thing I see in front of his plan for sports events.....broadcast  rights.

 One of my previous posts implied that point.

 There are all kinds of ideas, with countering barriers.

 Maybe he managed an in with the major broadcasters / sponsors bidding for the events....

doni