ANALYSIS/OPINION:
If you are in the sports business in this town, sooner or later, you will hear about a mystery man who is, as they say, the man you need to see if you want to get things done.
Eric Shuster’s official title is director of strategic partnerships at Comcast SportsNet.
A shorter — and more apt — title might simply be, “The Fixer.”
If you’re on the payroll of one of the Washington professional sports teams, and you need VIP tickets to an event, you call “The Fixer.”
If want to play golf in Tiger Woods’ Quicken Loans National Pro-Am, you call “The Fixer.”
“He is the right guy to know if you are playing sports in this city,” Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He knows how to handle all that comes with being a Redskin in Washington, D.C.”
Then-Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was doing an autograph signing at American Service Center when he met Shuster, who asked Boudreau if he was a golf fan. He told Boudreau that he had a spot in a foursome at Woods’ pro-am, to play with two Redskins — a foursome right behind Woods. Boudreau responded, “Mr. Shuster, if you are lying, I will never talk to you or Comcast SportsNet again. But if you are telling the truth, you have met your best friend in Washington.”
He was telling the truth — and so was Boudreau. They’ve become close friends since then. This summer, Shuster stayed at Boudreau’s home in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They talk often, and Boudreau, though he couldn’t be at the fundraiser, recorded a video in support of his good friend.
“There is no personal agenda with me,” Shuster said. “That is why I get along with players so well. My agenda is, let me know what you need. I’m not trying to get stories from guys. I’m not trying to be their best friend. They come to me when they need something.”
It is why Cousins reached out to Shuster shortly after joining the Redskins in 2012.
“A lot of guys on the team were familiar with him,” Cousins said. “You have a lot of people reach out to you and you always try to be guarded about who you let in. You are always careful, wondering if this guy is trying to get something from me, or is he really trying to help me and be a friend. I asked around and the resounding word I got back from everybody was that he has no agenda. He just wants to support you and help you. He knows a lot of people in the city, and he’s a good person to know.”
In 2004, while Comcast SportsNet was doing a show called “Monday Night Live,” Shawn Springs was playing for the Redskins and co-hosting the show. He met Shuster and they hit it off immediately.
“I said to him, ’You’ve got a great personality, who does your marketing?’” Shuster said. “We had dinner the next day, and since then Shawn and I have talked nearly every day, either a phone call or a text. He would talk to my parents all the time, and became part of the family.”
Springs asked Shuster to show rookie Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell around town. They remain close friends. He put Campbell in the first Geico commercial on Comcast SportsNet, and put a lot of the athletes in this town that followed — Brian Orakpo, Ryan Zimmerman, Nicklas Backstrom — in those commercials as well.
“The Fixer” had been behind the scenes until recently, when he held a high-profile event at Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place in Georgetown for the foundation he created in memory of his mother, Elaine Shuster.
She was a long-time special education teacher in Montgomery County, and was known for her commitment to children and community service. Elaine Shuster passed away in December 2013. It was Elaine who gave Shuster the idea of using his contacts to help others.
“Before she died, my mother said to me, ’You need to give back to your high school. You should do a charity event with some of the guys,’” Shuster said.
He started the foundation in his mother’s name, and recently Redskins running back Roy Helu presented a check from the foundation for $5,000 to Kennedy High School.
“My old teachers were at the event,” Shuster said. “The kids were so excited. One young girl was crying she was so excited.”
Shuster, 40, said he plans on giving more of the money he raised to other charities, and is planning his next event, a bowl-a-thon.
“I’m building a foundation that will last, and using my mother’s memory for a good cause,” Shuster said.
Cousins and Ryan Kerrigan, who co-hosted the Georgetown fundraiser with Springs, visited Shuster’s house after his mother passed away to be with their friend.
“Coming out of that, his decision to start the Elaine Shuster Foundation and give back to people in memory of his mother is a reflection of the kind of man he is,” Cousins said.
• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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