Cultural identity informs the work that Dallas Mavericks staff members do for the team, they told SMU students Wednesday.
Iris Diaz and Desiree Scott spoke at a panel about being Latinx in the sports industry. The event was hosted by the SMU Social Change and Intercultural Engagement office and Hegi Family Career Development Center.
Scott has worked with the Mavericks for 27 years. She said that she started in ticket sales and is now Director of Corporate Sponsorships.
Diaz is the only Latin Chief Marketing Officer in the NBA. She went from working at a Hispanic agency to the Dallas Mavericks almost five years ago and was surprised the Mavs didn’t have a stronger connection with their Latinx fanbase.
Diaz said sometimes it’s as simple as having someone in the room that asks, “Why not?”
“We have over 32% Latinos coming up to our games every single game, and we don’t have anything for them,” Diaz said. “If there’s no one in the room asking the proper questions, then it falls flat.”
Under Diaz, the Mavericks expanded their content for Latinx and Spanish speaking fans in social media, ticket marketing and in-stadium digital displays. They’ve also utilized their Spanish-speaking players: Luka Dončić, J.J. Barea and Kristaps Porziņģis.
Diaz credits Festival de los Mavs as the anchor for her work with the Latinx community. Seventeen years ago, Scott created the festival, an annual event bringing together Latinx Mavericks fans featuring food, music and former and current Dallas Mavericks players.
“That was the first time that we ever tried to do some outreach to the Latino market,” Scott said.
“I think the bottom line, certainly in the jobs that Iris and I have, is generating revenue,” Scott said. “So if you position it as an opportunity for us to target a different market, and I can sell it to Coors Light, and I can sell it to Bud Light, that speaks volumes.”
Diaz and Scott gave advice to students about being flexible, speaking up and being confident in their ideas. Advice like this is what brought Sebastian Grimaldos, an SMU graduate student from Colombia, to the event.
“I am Latin and I want to meet people like me that work in different industries,” Grimaldos said. “I learned a lot from this event—the perspective that people like me work in really nice positions in the sport and entertainment industries.”
This event was just one opportunity for students to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, said Laura Searle, the Intercultural Engagement Coordinator for SCIE. She’s looking forward to the SCIE hosted movie screening of “Hailing Cesar,” about the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez the week of Oct. 3.
“His grandson, Eduarodo Chavez, will be in attendance to come and chat with our students to answer any questions and also speak to what he’s learned in the film production business,” Searle said.
Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15 and ends on Oct. 15. Find@smusocialchange on Instagram for more information on events.
