Going For Broke: The Bizarre Saga Of Energy Watch
From The Age
WHEN Ben Polis finally crashed, it was spectacular – front-page headlines over two days, his uncontrollable personality exposed in black and white, millions of dollars in unpaid liabilities and major damage inflicted on three big sports clubs at the start of a new season.
In April, the Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Rebels rugby union team all dumped sponsorship contracts just hours after a newspaper printed extracts from Polis’ Facebook page. The posts managed to offend Aborigines, Jews, Muslims, Asians, women, fat people and bogans. They were intended as jokes, but came across as thoughtless and petulant. Energy companies immediately suspended relations during the outrage, cutting off Energy Watch’s only cash flow. Several resumed contracts within weeks.
