Inside sports business exec’s harrowing escape – Business News
John Tatum is one of the most plugged-in businessmen I do know, and but when the bombs began flying over his lodge room in downtown Doha — simply a jiffy from the embattled US army facility in Qatar — he was stranded and helpless.
“It was truly frightening,” Tatum, who runs the Dallas-based advertising and marketing firm Genesco Sports, advised me late final week as he was scrambling to go away the oil-rich Gulf state and return to security within the US.
Tatum won’t be a family identify for a lot of readers of The Post, however he’s a legend on the sports business scene, a consummate salesman who matches some of essentially the most recognizable manufacturers (assume PepsiCo, Verizon, Lowe’s, Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay, Visa, Campbells Soup) with some of the most important stars in professional sports (Cowboy QB Dak Prescott, soccer greats, Tom Brady, Eli and Peyton Manning, soccer stars like Lionel Messi, David Beckham and lots of more).
Sports advertising and marketing businessman John Tatum couldn’t instantly attain US officers to help he and workforce get out of Qatar after missile strikes by Iran. AFP through Getty Images
He counts Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones as one of his mentors. He considers Raws proprietor Stan Kroenke and Jets proprietor Woody Johnson close mates. He raises critical dough for national politicians; he has contacts inside the Trump White House as a result of of his deep ties to the burgeoning Texas business group.
And but he tells me he simply spent the scariest and most irritating couple of days of his life being one of almost 3,000 Americans stranded as air site visitors ceased within the area. “I couldn’t get through to anyone and when I did, they said they couldn’t help,” he tells me.
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It all began final Saturday morning, Qatar time, simply hours after conferences together with his shoppers at Qatar Airways, the official world airline associate of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Something that gave the impression of an amber alert started blowing up on Tatum’s iPhone.
The alert was from the Qatari authorities in Arabic and English to shelter in place. Tatum turned on his TV and far to his shock he watched President Trump announce we have been at battle.
That’s when the bombs actually began flying — actually over his head. Plumes of smoke and cargo crashes of the Iranian missiles aimed on the US base being intercepted earlier than they may do their harm. Some made it by way of. Tatum and his workforce noticed it all.
John Tatum, carrying a purple sweater, mentioned his calls to the US State Department went to voicemail and his different authorities contacts mentioned they may not help. John Tatum
He knew he needed to get out and fast. But calls to the State Department went into voicemail. He desperately blasted texts to anybody and everybody he knew in DC. None of his contacts within the US authorities may help.
“Sorry been very busy,” responded rote one very senior Trump Administration official (I’m withholding his identify at Tatum’s request). “Once we can get flights in, we can line up charters but right now airspace has been closed.”
True, Tatum traveled to Qatar, a half of the world that may be harmful, although he went there with out an inkling that he can be going to a true battle zone. This was of course a sneak assault by the US and Israeli army.
Tatum and others have been in a position to get on a constitution bus to Saudi Arabia. John Tatum
After hours of being in limbo, fearful he might need to attend the battle out for a number of weeks, earlier than getting back to Dallas, excellent news arrived. His mates at Qatar Airways discovered him a approach out with a constitution bus to Saudi Arabia, the place most of the airspace wasn’t closed, and a constitution flight to Frankfurt. He’s on his approach back to Dallas as this piece goes to press.
Quite a couple of days for a man who’s at his best schmoozing with shoppers versus ducking from missile assaults. So, I requested Tatum if he plans to go back anytime quickly.
His response. “Of course, I love Qatar.”
