Inside a hockey empire that turned youth sports into big business

Inside a hockey empire that turned youth sports into big business

Author: USA TODAY May 7, 2026 Duration: 17:23
The story of Murry Gunty is about more than a hockey dad interested in youth sports. It’s about a businessman who saw an opportunity to build a lucrative hockey empire and cashed in on it. Gunty claims that his company, Black Bear, took almost all of its profits and reinvested them back into the business, allowing more kids to play hockey. But a nine‑month USA TODAY investigation found that how Gunty built and ran his empire has raised serious concerns among legal experts, including potential abuse of monopoly power and using non-profit teams for private gain. USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Kenny Jacoby joins The Excerpt to share more on this investigation.  Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com.  Episode transcript available here.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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