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.
Unless you have cable rights, professional sports is a sinkhole.