SEATTLE (AP) — No one had more influence on professional sports in the Pacific Northwest than Paul Allen.
But though he was the owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and partial owner of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders, Allen usually shied away from the spotlight sought by others in his same position. As an owner, he didn't have the same visibility as the Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban nor was he an omnipresent figure on the sidelines like the Cowboys' Jerry Jones.
Allen would leave the locker rooms before cameras arrived, shuffling down hallways and out a side door to avoid taking attention from those he believed deserved it.