Happy Fourth of July!!

When our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence 248 years ago, they were not, sadly so, thinking very much about women, especially their role — or the lack thereof — in the business world.

Women took care of the house and the children, and made sure that their husbands were pampered and fed them after a long day at work providing for the family. It was 1776, and that’s just the way it was most everywhere in the world back then.

That did not not change for years, and in some ways, it still hasn’t much. But it’s getting g
better, of that we can agree.

And one example of that is Dee Haslem. The co-owner of the Browns along with her husband, Jimmy, she turns 70 on Friday. She was born July 5, 1954 in Knoxville, Tenn. The couple was married in 1976 and purchased the Browns in 2012  for just over $1 million after being minority owners of the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

She’s not just a figurehead with the Browns, either. Her word carries a lot of weight in the decision-making process of the club. That was evident when the Browns made the blockbuster trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022 and had to delicately maneuver their way through all the allegations against him for sexual misconduct involving women.

So, then, at a time when we celebrate our country and its credo of everyone, regardless of their gender, race or creed, having, by virtue of the laws, the freedom to be who, and, what, they want to be, this is an occasion and an opportunity to celebrate Mrs. Haslam and others like her, helping to blaze trails for women everywhere.

Steve King