Posted on 09/23/2011 3:35:36 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
Major League Baseball on Friday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to order the sale of the Dodgers, arguing in court papers that Frank McCourt's plan to retain ownership of the team is "dead on arrival."
MLB does not intend to approve any sale of television rights that would help McCourt maintain ownership of the Dodgers, according to the filing, and the league could enforce its ability to strip McCourt of the team once it emerged from bankruptcy protection.
"Mr. McCourt cannot hide the Dodgers in bankruptcy forever," the MLB filing read.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
McCourt’s final ploy to retain ownership has been effectively neutered, with MLB declaring they would NOT approve sale of TV rights.
Yay, it would be absolute heaven to start next year with new ownership and our hotter’n’hot team.
Maybe they should just ‘deem’ someone the new owner, maybe the MLB should buy the team themselves since they decide everything anyways.
Fwank has had myriad opportunities to clean up his act and failed every time. Like it or not, MLB has the authority to preserve the game of baseball. L.A. fans unanimously HATE McCourt and his slimy, selfish business practices. He wouldn’t go voluntarily so it has to be done this way. He’s the one who took it to court anyway.
If he is the owner he should be able to own. If I were wealthy I’d never think of buying a sports franchise, knowing I’d have no freedom to run it.
In the divorce proceedings, Jamie McCourt states she is half-owner. That has not been refuted by a judge. Their ownership papers, in fact, were a mess. If you haven’t been following the story, it is not a cut-and-dried case of one person -— Frank -— having the “right” of ownership.
The team belongs to a league, and the league belongs to the sport of baseball, e.g. MLB. It’s part of the ownership contract and it is MLB who approves or dis-approves bids to buy teams.
Being a team owner is similar to being a sub-contractor on a huge construction project.
The McCourt divorce was affecting the operations of the team and, when they couldn’t meet payroll, that was when MLB stepped in.
Let the MLB buy all the teams then. WHat is the point of having owners” who own nothing?
Unless you have cable rights, professional sports is a sinkhole.
Is MLB trying to get the Dodgers Liquidated? If McCourt can’t get a plan approved then the Dodgers will go Ch-7 and MLB can bid for the dregs. How much money does the Dodgers owe MLB?
Thanks for the link to Dodger Divorce. Joel Fisher has been following in detail for two years now, I think.
I wonder if any baseball owner has taken the situation this far before and down such a complex path. McCourt has no regard for the quality organization and image that was built over time, making the Dodgers one of the most desirable and respected teams in sports. It is heartbreaking to see the damage he has done; every week, another long-term pillar of the organization leaves or is fired.
One thing that is not much discussed is that Jamie McCourt is co-owner until and unless a judge says otherwise. I believe that is another case. I’ve lost count of how many court cases Frank McCourt is involved in, including the ones where he is being sued.
I can only conclude that he is pure evil, and I am glad MLB made this latest move against him. It could lead to him making an out-of-court settlement. Here is where I think Jamie has leverage because she has publicly said that the team should be sold.
As such, MLB wants an owner that is willing to use all of its revenue sources to the Dodgers to pay for improving the team and the stadium. And there are a number of suitors already to buy the team.
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