Evan Zeppos: "The law permits us to do this"

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Bradley Center officials believe the state law that created the Bradley Sports and Entertainment Corp. allows them to sell the naming rights for the facility.

The original enabling legislation creating the framework for the Bradley Center, which opened in 1988, states that the corporation must "adequately provide for the long-term maintenance of the Bradley Center."

Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for the Bradley Center board, said that, prior to the board deciding to sell the naming rights to the facility, lawyers researched state law and legislative intent. "We believe the law permits us to do this," Zeppos said.

"We appreciate the feedback we're getting. It was a very hard decision for this board to come to. We did not take this lightly. As we go forward, we will be sensitive to doing this respectfully and we will maintain Mrs. Pettit's name and the Bradley name in an appropriate manner," he said.

As long as Mrs. Pettit's heirs are not on board, renaming the Bradley Center cannot be done respectfully.

Zeppos says the law permits it.

What's legal isn't always what's moral.

... Lynde B. Uihlein, Mrs. Pettit's daughter, e-mailed the Journal Sentinel with a short statement. She wrote: "My mother was a generous, compassionate, unassuming woman who sought to recognize the source of her wealth by building the Bradley Center for the people of Milwaukee and naming it after her father, Harry Lynde Bradley, who loved the city and its people.

"She is in my heart always and in the hearts of those who are able and willing to remember."

A lengthy statement from Lynde B. Uihlein, Mrs. Pettit's daughter, isn't necessary to express where the family stands on the naming rights issue.

I hear echoes of her mother in her words.

Whatever the Bradley Center board decides to do, I hope Mrs. Pettit's family knows that there are people "able and willing to remember."

I hope they know how much Mrs. Pettit's generosity and compassion is still appreciated.

I hope they realize how strongly some people object to the board's move to change the name of the Bradley Center without the explicit consent of Mrs. Pettit's heirs, and how much they care.