Sonics owners’ e-mails
You knew things likely wouldn’t turn out good for the Sonics owners when city of Seattle attorneys sought to obtain e-mails from the ownership group. Well, sure enough, there were some pretty revealing things found in those exchanges, The Seattle Times is reporting. As it turns out, three of the team’s owners wanted to have the team play here this season, not 2008-09, not 2009-10, not 2010-11.
Here’s the e-mail exchange between team owners Tom Ward, Aubrey McClendon and Clay Bennett dated April 17-19, 2007….
Ward: “Is there any way to move here for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?”
Bennett: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!”
Ward: “That’s the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here next year”
McClendon: “Me too, thanks Clay!”
Also, The Seattle Times obtained a copy of an e-mail exchange between Bennett and NBA Commissioner David Stern dated August 18, 2007, a week after McClendon made his infamous “We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle. We hoped to come here” statement. Bennett sent a lengthy e-mail to Stern numbering five points.
“1) As I told Joel on Monday night, without question the most troubling thing about the “Aubrey Episode” is that I am concerned that you feel that I have betrayed your trust. David you know how I feel about our relationship both personally and professional. You are among a very few, notwithstanding our relative brief actual physical time together that have significantly affected my life. I view you as a role model as an extraordinary gifted executive, a deep and compassionate thinker, and a person with a rare and unique charisma that brings out the best in everyone you touch. You are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship Sonics business aside. I would never breach your trust. As absolutely remarkable as it may seem, Aubrey and I have NEVER discussed moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, nor have I discussed it with ANY other member of our ownership group. I have been passionately committed to our process in Seattle, and have worked my ass off. The deal for me has NEVER changed: we will do all we can in the one year time frame (actually fifteen months) to affect the development of a successor venue to KeyArena, if we are unsuccessful at the end of the timeframe, October 31, 2007, we will then evaluate our options. I have never wavered and will not. Further I must say that when we bought the team I absolutely believed we would be successful in building a building.”
That was just the first bullet point. Again, he had four more in an awfully lengthy e-mail.
Stern replied: “You and I are fine. I have been acting on the premise that everything you say about Aubrey and your efforts is true–well before you said them. It pains me to see the situation you are in, and I have difficulty conjuring a happy ending in Seattle, but I appreciate your efforts and very greatly value our friendship. I have a meeting with the ref advisory board on Monday morning, which I will spend the day tomorrow preparing for but we should try to talk early in the week–so I can calm you down.”
-DM-
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Thank you for reporting the story in the web page. It is unfortunate that it is not placed more prominently.
Thanks again
Clay Bennett says: “1) As I told Joel on Monday night, without question the most troubling thing about the “Aubrey Episode” is that I am concerned that you feel that I have betrayed your trust. David you know how I feel about our relationship both personally and professional. You are among a very few, notwithstanding our relative brief actual physical time together that have significantly affected my life. I view you as a role model as an extraordinary gifted executive, a deep and compassionate thinker, and a person with a rare and unique charisma that brings out the best in everyone you touch. You are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship Sonics business aside. I would never breach your trust.
___________________________________________________
If my wife ever found a letter I had written to anyone, especially another man, like the she would have been to an Attorney so fast my head would still be spinning.
This is the biggest case of Man Love, or at the least, Hero Worship I have ever read.
Mrs Clay must be hiding out some place where sharp instruments are banned.
What does Oklahoma City have to say about this? Do the citizens support their owners lies and back-stabbing?
Just curious.
This is a whole lot of nothing. A bump in the road that won’t change anything.
Seattle’s last desperate act before the BOG vote
This is all they got. If there was anything else in the emails, it would have been added for maximum effect.
A little embarrassing perhaps but nothing more.
Philip,
Seems like you don’t care how you get a team — cheating, stealing, lying, doesn’t seem to matter to you.
You may as well be taking the Celtics out of Boston by kidnapping them at gunpoint?
The end is more important than the means I guess. Bravo.
Agreed, Philip. This does destroy all of your previous arguments and I accept your retraction on behalf of those of us that were right all along.
Yes, thank you Phillip for admitting how wrong you have consistently been and how dumb you feel right now. It takes guts to admit when you’re credibility is completely destroyed.
The April email was AFTER the state slammed the door in Bennetts face and AFTER Seattle passed I-91. It was obvious to everyone at that point, that there wasn’t going to be a new arena in Washington. The owners would of course have been contemplating plan b at that point.
“Chris Van Dyk, who headed the campaign, called any claims that state lawmakers legislators might now authorize a publicly subsidized arena in elsewhere in Western Washington “baloney.”
“With this kind of vote in the city of Seattle, it’s extremely unlikely that any tax subsidy would make its way through the Legislature, particularly one without a public vote,” as Bennett has called for, Van Dyk said. And “on the outside chance that one did, we would work to block it.”
I’m really impressed with how morally righteous guys like Pete are…..how very impressive.
Like I said before….this changes nothing. If Seattle would have built an arena, the team would have stayed. They didn’t and the team is relocating. End of story.
Why is there no article on the front of newsOK’s NBA in OCK page regarding this matter? Is it that everyone already knows that Clay Clay has been a liar from the begining? I highly suggest reading the entire court document the original poster pasted a link to.
Highly suggest away….Mcduck
There is nothing there that builds an arena in Seattle or keeps the team from leaving.
Just a minor case of heartburn…
I’m not trying to appear morally right.
I’m simply asking, as a lifetime sports fan, local and national, are you willing to back an owner like this one, and take and support a team that was stolen from a fan base and city under shady, dishonest circumstances?
That’s all I’m asking.
…And you may well be right… maybe it doesn’t change anything.
But the fact that it may not change anything is the ultimate indictment of Bennett, and the NBA — that they can lie their way into getting what they want.
Interested to see what comes of this kind of thing in the national media.
These emails are just scratching the surface of what would come out in trial.
tragically, i have to agree with phillip on this one. we already had the court case won, even without this latest mess. it is still up to our civic leaders to get something done!!!
it may buy us a little more time. but i think thats all it will do!!
i pray im wrong!!!
Also, as for the Bennett quotes you popped into your post, if you’ll recall, this was a reaction to a proposal he made that he knew had no chance of passing. Because he wanted to move the team, no arena deal would have been good enough for him. He could have had the Taj Mahal built for him, and he would have said “No, thanks, not up to NBA standards.”
You’re right Joey, it’s going to take some people stepping to the plate. I still think it will happen. There’s still a week left, we’ll be meeting with Governor Gregoire at 3:30 today.
And if not, Seattle will win the court case, and we’ll have another two years to figure out a solution.
When OKC people say “Well, we’d rather have an expansion team, but this is what we got,” I say you’re just as low as Bennett. Your city officials started working on deals to steal our team away at least 6 months before the infamous “good faith” period, which we now know was garbage all along.
Further more, Clay and Aubrey must be the two biggest idiots in the world shooting emails around like that.
Clay Clay: YEEE HAAWW!! WE TOOK DER TEAM!! (*BANG BANG BANG*)
Aubrey: WE TOOK ‘ER TEAM!
Clay Clay: Aw shucks, here comes Stern. (Enter David Stern) David you know how I feel about our relationship both personally and professional. . . you are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship. . . I have never wavered and will not. Further I must say that when we bought the team I absolutely believed we would be successful in building a building. (Exit David Stern)
Clay Clay and Aubrey: WE TOOD DER TEAM!! (*BANG BANG*)
As many people as Save Our Sonics can get down to South Seattle CC at 3:30 today. She’s kicking off her campaign for re-election, and will have a meeting with SOS and whoever wants to during her campaign stop down at SSCC.
and we have the only okie (phillip), still spouting off!!! all the other HONEST citizens are taking a serious look at how this has made thier great city look VERY BAD to the rest of the nation!! it is already effecting your economy, due to, we had 3 seattle area teams playing in softball tourney’s in your fine city @ $3000 per team spent on motels, rest, etc. in may, that are now going to dallas. at first, it was just my team, that i personally sponsor, but, now 2 other local sponsor’s were going to pull funding for the other 2 teams trips, but, the teams chose to join us in dallas. $12,000 gone from just 1 pissed-off guy (me), that is not coming to your economy. i will not pay to play in the kind of community ok city has turned into (liars, thieves, peasants). now, you are starting to see the TRUE clayboy, with documentation, and all you can say phillip is #@$!%$@%#. wait until the NBA emails come out. poor phillip will still be in denial. you see phillip, we know the team is gone, but, we up here have a thing called pride, which your fine city will see in june, along with the rest of the nation!!! clayboy has not won but 1 ruling in his court case. he obviously forgot who he picked the fight with!!!! see ya in june okie’s!!! DM you invited me for a cup of coffee, and, you still havnt accepted my return invite. dont tell me, you are as dishonest as the rest of the okie’s trying to steal our team??????? i for sure you would be above all that, but then again, i forgot who employs you!! my bad!!!
love,
mike u.
p.s. SEE YA’AALLL IN JUNE!
bennet= snake
shultz= anti-christ
philip= illiterate square
stern= punked
DM= broken-hearted 
OKC= salty
bison dele= ?…
THE BAD THING IS THERE ARE A TON OF GREAT CITIZENS IN OK CITY, BUT, YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW A MAYOR AND BALLCLUB OWNER THAT ISNT ACTUALLY THE MOST HONEST POLITICIAN/OWNERS!! LAY WITH APPLES, I GOTTA CALL YOU’ALL APPLES!!! MY $$$ IS GOING TO DALLAS, SORRY ASA TOURNEY’S NOTHING PERSONAL (AS CLAYBOY HAS SAID), JUST BUSINESS!!!
I have close ties to the Seattle Times newspaper and this isn’t even the juiciest info from these emails. I don’t want to reveal too much, but let’s just say Stern and Bennett’s goes well beyond a platonic relationship.
It may never come out if a deal is reached. I know it will be handled as a delicate situation in how they deal with information in that it could have disastrous repercussions for the NBA.
i thought of a few more OKC team name possibilities:
OKC Dust Bowl
OKC Bromance
OKC Congressional Pages
OKC David Sterns
OKC Claymates
OKC Onion Blossoms brought to you by Applebees
OKC Negative Sideburns
OKC Punchlines
OKC Panhandlers (get it?)
Can’t wait to see the Panhandlers tear up the D-League in 2012.
wow, jj, very interesting. i thought those emails had a homosexual undertone but i thought it might have been the palahniuk i just read. that would have vast social and cultural implications if leaked. will be interesting to see how the nba handles the situation.
mark, great list. brilliant. how about, for DM:
OKC BlackWallstreet
Philip,
Don’t bring a lasso to a gun fight. If you can’t take on the folks from Seattle without your blinders on, you best be steppin’. Class won’t keep your team from leaving town and it won’t bring one to your town either. Strokin’ the ego of an egomanical turd is your best bet for the latter obviously.
Phillip,
Let me just say I am concerned that you feel that I have betrayed your trust. Phillip, you know how I feel about our relationship both personally and professional. You are among a very few, notwithstanding our relative brief actual physical time together that have significantly affected my life. I view you as a role model as an extraordinary gifted executive, a deep and compassionate thinker, and a person with a rare and unique charisma that brings out the best in everyone you touch. You are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship Sonics business aside. I would never breach your trust.
Sincerely,
me
DM said the Oklahoman’s story will be out tomorrow. The Seattle papers knew this was coming so they already had a lead on the story. They sure weren’t going to leak anything to the Oklahoman, which happens to be in bed with Bennett. The emails cited in federal court are only the opening volley used to compel the court to force the NBA to hand over financial documents. Expect more to in the weeks leading up to the June trial. Bennett’s group picked this fight, I sure hope they don’t walk away and drop their petition to break the lease. If they were smart, they would have just waited out the final two years. As we all know, they are not.
What is quite interesting is that the ass of this whole deal Schultz may in the end help us the most. The agreement that he made with Bennett stipulated that they would have to make an effort to keep the team in SEA. If these e-mail say otherwise then Schultz can sue the pants off of the group.
Clay to Ward and McClendon on April 17th 2007: Ward: “Is there any way to move here for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?”
Bennett: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!”
Ward: “That’s the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here next year”
McClendon: “Me too, thanks Clay!”
A Bald Faced Lie to Stern in the very next sentences after he pleads for understanding, promises never to lie and pledges his never ending devotion.
Clay to Stern on August 18th 2007 :……….You are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship Sonics business aside. I would never breach your trust. As absolutely remarkable as it may seem, Aubrey and I have NEVER discussed moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, nor have I discussed it with ANY other member of our ownership group. I have been passionately committed to our process in Seattle, and have worked my ass off.
Quite a piece of work you guys have to be so proud of down there..
How much do you think that Oklahoma City will be chipping in for collusion to steal the Sonics now that the famous Mayor Mick has his hands elbow deep in the Peanut Butter Jar.
As a Seattle citizen, I just want to say to all residents of OKC that I am sorry that the only representative of your city that we see and hear is Clay Bennett. I am sure that many of you are as disgusted by Bennett as we are. I am also sure you are all not “dumb Okies” or whatever some of my fellow citizens may call you. I don’t know how this became us against you, as you have as much influence on this as we do. I think our frustration at our government and Bennett and his group gets directed at you. Please be assured that we don’t all think like that, and I am sure that you don’t all think like Bennett. As a 15 year season ticket holder to the Sonics, I would hate to lose my team under these circumstances, especially in light of what we heard today. And I bet you would hate to get a team under these circumstances. Lets just all agree that Bennett and his group don’t represent the typical OKC resident, and get back to hating them and them only. And Phillip.
On a side note, I just attended the Christine Gregoire rally ( as a Save Our Sonics member) and she was very upset about Bennett lying to her. I think the emails may just be the catalyst to get our state reps to do something. I hate to say it Philip, but I think you should start looking for an expansion team, or start following Grizzlies basketball. Bennett et al. may have just screwed themselves. You don’t lie to Stern and get away with it. He is a vindictive little weasel and he will not be pleased to end up looking like a fool. Even with Bennetts bromance email. I thought he sold the Storm because they didn’t like “those kind” of people, only to actually be one. Weird. Bennett wasn’t in a mens room in the Twin Cities was he?
Phillip,
Wait … what Tim really means to say is, your mother loves you, the rest of us Seattleites hate you. 
Evening!
I’m completely w/ Tim (not in the Bennett Stern position mind you) the Sonics ticket holder on this one. The vitriol and blame should’nt be directed towards the citizens of OC under any circumstance…it’s not like ya’ll knew exactly what that weasel Bennett was attempting to pull off…it sucks that you guys may not get a team right away as a result of all this. I really believe that Bennett and Co. have so completely screwed the pooch on this one that the likelihood of their getting a franchise for your city is now almost hopelessly lost. I believe that we’re just beginning to see the tip of a horrendously large iceberg. I don’t blame you guys in the least for wanting a team, and I applaud those of you that are taking a stand for the ethics of decency, and not the avarice of expediency. Guess the Clay’s feet are really showing now. Best of luck to you guys…and Peace!
Saint
Fans of Sonics coming to Oklahoma City should be very concerned. If I’m the lawyer for the Sonics, I’m bringing a lawsuit to void the sales contract of the Sonics to Clay Bennett, based on fraud (promising to give a good faith effort to keep the sonics in Seattle). I’m very anxious to see what develops now.
do you guys really see this e-mail scandal, being the catalyst to finally get things going? i just dont see it. ive been let down so many times during this process, ive become a bit of a pessimist. to me this seems like a minor fleeting dust up. i hope im wrong.
This story is not on the front page of the Oklahoman? Not even on the front page of the sports section? NOT EVEN ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE “NBA IN OKC” SECTION?
Go read Bennett’s e-mails on ESPN.com. It will open your eyes to how Oklahoma City may possibly be the recipient of STOLEN GOODS! You people had plausible deniability before but now you’ve lost it! Anyone who buys OKC Sonics tickets will be just as guilty as Clay Bennett and his cronies.
I’m not even from Seattle or a Sonics fan. This whole situation is just that disgusting!
Wait till you see the news tomorrow. There are now emails from the ownership group dated 10 DAYS after the purchase of the team stating that some of the owners are already getting nervous that they might have to stay in Seattle a while.
10 DAYS!
This means that the fraud started BEFORE they signed the legal documents with Howard Shultz that committed them to one years “Good faith best effort”. It is also in the motion to compel that the NBA also required Bennett to make such an effort AND required the owners to “expressly affirm they had no intention of relocating the Sonics outside the Seattle area”.
Game, set, match.
Saint is correct. The people of Oklahoma City are every bit as much victims of this con man as the people of Seattle and the NBA is.
This is about to become one of the biggest scandals in Pro-Sports. The Governor of the State of Washington, a former Atty General that brought down the tabbaco companies, today met with the founders of Save Our Sonics and came out stating that there is no way she is letting this team go.
You can expect every possible legal challenge, lawsuit, and investigation into this fraud imaginable.
This documented proof of “bad faith” opens the door up to a legal challenge by members of the former ownership group to sue in order to get the team back.
Right now the people of OKC need to start thinking about who their next Mayor is going to be because he is about to take the city down with Clay on this one.
If you haven’t yet read the City of Seattle’s brief in support of their motion to compel the NBA to submit to discovery requests, you should. It is pretty awesome as far as legal documents go. The Preston & Gates law firm is a beast. I’m still paying off the legal fees I incurred fighting them on an baseless injunction for relief. The City of Seattle has the NBA by their collective ping pongs. Can’t wait for the fight to really get started.
It is very entertaining to read what K & L Gates (formerly PG&E) puts out and then look at the drivel that Clays law firm submits. Theirs looks like it might as well be written in crayon. This court case is going to be a blood bath and for no reason. Clay isn’t going to get out of the lease no matter what happens so why is he doing this?
State Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, said she thinks Bennett gave Seattle plenty of chances, despite the latest reports about the e-mails.
The money Bennett’s group spent on lobbyists and consultants to promote a proposed $500 million arena in Renton, Prentice said, convinced her that Bennett genuinely wanted the Sonics to stay here.
“I’m not making excuses for anyone, I only know what I saw,” she said. “He was very disappointed when we didn’t even get a decent hearing on the Renton site.”
Asked about co-owner McClendon’s e-mail in July 2006 — just after buying the team — celebrating “the OKLAHOMA CITY SONIC BOOM,” Prentice dismissed it: “This just sounds like guy talk.”
“Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago-based sports-industry consulting firm, said the e-mails amounted to “background noise” in the overall legal dispute between the city and the Sonics, scheduled for trial in June. He said such cases almost always get settled before trial, because it makes sense for both sides.
“At some point emotion needs to step out of the way and the interest of the taxpayers needs to be at the forefront. And that is usually what winds up happening at some point in the discussions,” Ganis said. “It becomes a win for the politicians, because they basically have scalped the team owner as they are leaving town, and the team owner does not have to deal with a year or two or three of being a lame duck”
i just wanted to remind everyone that i’m from OKC, and i have been saying FOREVER that this looks shady, and unfortunately, i’m right. i wish OKC realized that a businessman will screw anyone over to make a buck, including OKC in a few years.
That truth was confirmed in an August magazine interview with co-owner Aubrey McClendon, who said, “We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle.” McClendon also stated that he wasn’t in favor of the Storm because he didn’t want “those kind of women” in Oklahoma City — referring to lesbians. McClendon and co-owner Tom Ward have given $1.1 million to anti-gay marriage proponents.
phillip, as i have said before. you may be right. but this does prove the lying deceitful nature of bennett. without question this muddys the water.
c’mon phillip, you can’t REALLY think that all this is on the up-and-up, can you? i know it’s a business, and i know that owners can do whatever they want, but take a look at the big picture. bennett is shady. as hell. i’d love to have a team, but this guy will financially molest us at the first chance because, say it with me, he’s the owner. do you really think he is going to have some moral obligation to help us out, but he was willing to pay to break multi-million dollar leases in seattle? this is his new toy, and when the gimmick wears off for bennett, it won’t matter how well the team is doing in OKC, he will screw us if he wants to. and i guess i’ll be the only oklahoman saying “i told you so.”
and i think this may be the wake up call our civic leaders needed. there will be no settlement. this will be a fight to the finish!
just to be clear, phil, i am not feeling guilty. i am ****ing scared for my city. this guy can own all the energy companies he wants, i don’t watch them work, but a pro sports team that’s helping to bring all this positive light {sarcasm} is completely different.
Wow donuteyes, you sure are feeling morally superior this morning, aren’t you.
[sarcasm] I can understand how perfect people like you would be so grievously disappointed in others that come up short. [sarcasm]
To claim that the the emails show that the owners “will screw anyone over to make a buck,” is ridiculous,
You’re as big a hypocrite as the Seattle posters. A bunch of drama queens blowing this whole thing completely out of proportion.
All Seattle had to do to keep the Sonics was to build an arena that would allow the team to compete with with the teams in the other NBA cities. They have no one to blame but themselves.
donuteyes Says:
“bennett is shady. as hell. i’d love to have a team, but this guy will financially molest us at the first chance because, say it with me, he’s the owner. do you really think he is going to have some moral obligation to help us out,”
Clay Bennett and his family and his other partners are excellent civic leaders and have collectively given countless millions supporting their community and state.
For you to paint them as people who would “financially molest us at the first chance” is shameless.
all i know is they (apparantly) said one thing, and were trying to do another.
and supporting your community and running the community’s basketball team are worlds apart. just calling it like i see it, but you can call it a feeling of superiority if you want to. i’m objective. i’m sorry you’re not.
now i’ve got OKC people calling me names. i’m so proud of oklahoma. (do i still need to point out the sarcasm?)
donuteyes Says:
“now i’ve got OKC people calling me names”
You got called out for calling “OKC people” names and casting aspirsions on people that you don’t even know and know very little about.
more like care little about.
and i got ‘called out’ over the internet? you really feel like you called me out? seriously? how does one react to a cyber-calling-out? this is dumb.
Philip Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 7:56 am
“Seattle is getting what they asked for. The sense of entitlement and superiority there is sickening.”
Philip Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 10:35 am
“…casting aspirsions on people that you don’t even know and know very little about.”
yes phillip, I’M the hypocrite.
it seems to me that if anyone disagrees with you, you jump to calling them names and claiming they’re feeling superior. i guess it’s better than feeling inferior…
seattle, i apologize on behalf of all the negative things that phillip has said. he means well, he just wants a basketball team, and i can’t fault him for that. he’s just not thinking objectively.
Please don’t apologize for me donuteyes, I stand by everything I’ve written and have agreed with very little you’ve written.
and definently is not thinking with any kind of economical sense, or, tends to lean towards not having any integrity. the whole nation is shaking thier heads at your city officials, that the voters put into office, and, voted in a bunch of cash for a remodel, but, we are not to blame them because they are just trying to better thier city. HA! YOU ARE WHO YOU LAY WITH, AND, IT IS A KNOWN FACT BENNETT HAS LIED, DECIEVED, AND, PULL THE WOOL OVER THE EYES FO MANY!! yet we are not to blame the fine citizens. and Marc Ganis obviously knows so much about SEATTLE sports history, that we have never, ever beat the pants of anyone who has tried to steal another of our great teams (RE:ken berhing, mariners). so, i guess we are the rarity in these cases. now, the governor is involved. Stern knows he can fight a city, but, believe me fighting a state is a whole other battle. there will be no settlement that favors clayboy, the GOV has almost insured her reelection with the proper stand she is now taking!!! SEE ya’all IN JUNE!! Darrell, still waiting to hear about that cup of coffee??? am willing to give you a fine-a$$ tour of a truly GREAT city. but, i have a feeling, you may not make it here, due to the owner of the paper being a lil peeved!!!!LOL! she just doesnt realize your just reporting both sides of the issue D.M., which all great reporters do. my offer still stands if she changes your expense alottment. SEE ya’ll IN JUNE!!
mike u.
(Mike, it’s Darnell. And I don’t drink coffee. But I’d love to get together in June. -DM-)
Phillip,
I believe you make some compelling points…a bit caustically, but valid nonetheless. I would like to point out that the Seattle market/state taxpayers have been held hostage twice in the past twenty years by professional sports teams in order to get stadiums built….Mariners Safeco Field, and Seahawks Quest Field. Now if perhaps OC had experienced this before, the taxpayers of Oklahoma would probably take a similar stance to those in Washington about being taken by the short and curlies and told build us a venue or else. Political solutions notwithstanding, Bennett’s a prevaricating weasel, and regardless of how anyone from any area tries to exonerate him and his buddies, the emails are a smoking canon. I think Searn and Co. are going to biotch slap him and his group around…especially when he sees the cost of the pending discovery and litigation that awaits him. Seattle is in the driver’s seat on this one as it’s got both Bennett and the NBA by the whoozits.
Peace man!
Saint
Saint, why did it have to get to that point with the other two teams before Seattle did what it took to keep the teams….. build new stadiums. Seattle could have avoided all that by just building the stadiums in the first place. It was just as much Seattlles fault it got to that point.
Do you regret building the stadiums? Would you have rather lost those teams?
Well….This time there was no last minute stadium deal and Seattle is actually going to lose their first team. Want to blame someone? Look to CVD…look to Frank Chopp……but most of all, look to the voters in Washington that are overwhelmingly against their tax dollars being spent on an arena.
They decided they don’t want their tax dollars spent on an arena but they really don’t want the Sonics to leave either.
Sorry….. you don’t get to have your cake and eat it too and if Seattle had made the same decision on the M’s and the Hawks, you would have lost them too.
Going public with these private emails has very little to do with the court case and very much to do with trying to embarrass and humiliate the owners right before the BOG vote.
It won’t change the vote and further poisons the relationship between the NBA and Seattle.
In one week the BOG will approve the relocation request and shortly thereafter the Sonics will sign a long term lease with OKC beginning in 2010 or upon the successful resolution of the lease.
Seattle can then decide to either accept a very substantial buyout or if the city wins the court case, choose to endure the two ugliest years in Seattle sports history and then watch the team walk away giving the city nothing.
Column today from the (Tacoma) News Tribune:
Dear Dave, miss you! Clay
JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
If nothing else, the word “heartless” never again can be applied to Clay Bennett.
The man has a heart. It’s big and soft and melts faster than a Valentine’s Day chocolate bar left inside a locked car parked on sunny day two blocks from the nearest shade.
He cries, just like the rest of us, and feels pain, just like the rest of us, and no doubt cries when he feels the pain of, say, stubbing his toe on a vacuum cleaner left in the living room. (Which, if you think about it, is probably a more rational response to stubbing a toe than screaming profanities, especially if it’s 3 a.m. and the dog is asleep.)
Bennett also is capable of marveling over a superstar’s sheer presence. This is not unusual for an NBA owner – the league regards its top stars to be more influential than its best teams – except the superstar Bennett reveres has yet to score a point or pull down a rebound, and needs a ladder to touch a net.
We know this about Clay Bennett because the city of Seattle has obtained thousands of e-mail correspondences in preparation for its court fight with the Sonics over the KeyArena lease.
Among the e-mails the city obtained is a letter Bennett sent to commissioner David Stern in August after co-investor Aubrey McClendon told a business reporter that his group intended to relocate the franchise to Oklahoma City from Day One.
I’m not especially comfortable reading somebody else’s mail; it’s a little like almost falling asleep on a plane a few minutes before takeoff, and being forced to eavesdrop on the loud cell-phone conversation the stranger next to you is holding with a business associate. I try not to listen, but what’s the alternative? Screaming profanities?
Besides, thanks to The Seattle Times, Bennett’s letter of contrition/admiration/let’s-just-turn-over-all-the-cards-and-call-it-awe already has become part of the public domain – not unlike that infamous phone message rant Alec Baldwin sent last year to his daughter.
The note begins with a compliment on the commissioner’s work in defusing the referee-gambling scandal, and then Bennett channels his inner Eddie Haskell.
“Without question the most troubling thing about the ‘Aubrey Episode’ is that I am concerned that you may feel that I have betrayed your trust,” he writes. “David you know how I feel about our relationship, both personally and professionally. You are among a very few, notwithstanding our relative brief actual physical time together, that have significantly affected my life.”
Stern at this point is likely thinking, OK, I get it, we’re cool. But when Bennett put his fingers to a keyboard – and who’d have imagined this? – he can make John Keats sound like John Wayne.
He lauds the commissioner as a role model, an extraordinarily gifted executive, a deep and compassionate thinker, and then he takes the cap off the syrup and really pours it on, calling Stern “a person with a rare and unique charisma that brings out the best in everybody you touch.”
“You are,” Bennett adds, somewhat redundantly, “just one of my favorite people on earth.”
(All of you Little Leaguers out there in the audience, pay attention. When you write a letter to your favorite team, requesting the autograph of your favorite player, make sure to mention you want an autograph of “just one of my favorite people on earth.” It’s only eight extra words.),
As goofy as Bennett’s fan-mail note to the commissioner appears in retrospect, it explains everything.
It explains why Stern’s visits to Olympia were public-relations wrecks.
He expected his audience to fawn over him, only to read reviews that he was seen as pompous and condescending.
As for his rare and unique charisma, well, he merely spoke to lawmakers. No arrangements were made for him to touch them.
It also explains Stern’s loyalty to Oklahoma City. He might be a deep and compassionate thinker, but it’s lots more fun to be reminded you’re a deep and compassionate thinker than to actually think deeply, with compassion.
Mrs. Cleaver was wise to Eddie Haskell’s charm, but only because “Leave it to Beaver” was a television show. In real life, Mr. Stern is as susceptible to flattery as any other president, king, premier, generalissimo or czar.
And it explains Bennett’s ability, if not to move mountains, then to arrange to move teams surrounded by mountains.
He’s got a knack for making those around him feel important, and if those around him already feel important, he’s got a knack for making them believe they aligned the solar system, determined the specific components of fire and ice, designed all creatures great and small, and invented the wheel before taking a deep breath and disciplining Ron Artest for his role in the Pacers-Pistons brawl.
Clay Bennett is nobody’s oaf. To the contrary, this is a genius of manipulation whose only mistake was to correspond over e-mail.
Like diamonds, tattoos and first-round draft picks of clumsy 7-foot centers, an e-mail message is forever.
Next time somebody associated with the Sonics ownership group angers the commissioner, Bennett might want to apologize the old-fashioned way, and send some flowers.
They wilt and eventually crumble, sure. But there’s no telling how long flowers could last on the desk of David Stern, once he touches them.
#
Phillip,
Again, some good points. I think what I was trying to articulate is that if OC had been, or was being held, in a like circumstance with similar variables…I really doubt that the OC powers that be would be eager to “step up to the plate” just to get brushed back w/ pitches aimed at their heads! As much as your area/state wants and deserves a team, who’s to say that Bennett won’t do the same to you guys when it becomes apparent that the lure of television revenues in a larger market etc. is too strong to resist? Again, my gut tells me that Bennett and his cadre are not going to withstand the sh*t storm of litigation that awaits them. Just my opinion.
Saint
Saint, we were faced with losing our triple A baseball team about a decade ago and choose to build what at the time was considered to be the nicest minor league stadium in the country paid for 100% with tax dollars. I know thats small compared to Seattles deals but….
The only other comparison I might offer is if somehow the OU Sooners were going to leave because their stadium was inadequate, I can promise you a new stadium would get built.
As far as withstanding the sh*t storm, they can make it stop at any point they choose by just agreeing to stay until 2010 and just ride out the last two years. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that’s what happens.
They’re willing to pay more as a buyout right now than they’re likely to lose in the next two years so other than having to wait it’s about a wash.
donuteyes: He resorts to name calling and misinformation because he doesn’t have a factual basis for his claims. He has to do that to deflect attention from his claims getting shredded.
He is using dishonest tactics to try and make his points. For instance while every elected official in the state is citing that they were lied to by Bennett, and now the documentation shows that is a hard fact, he cites only the lone elected official that still thinks Clay was sincere. This woman has a repuation for being delusional so he can misrepresent the situation by using only that statement.
Another example is stating that “all Seattle had to do was build an arena”. This of course is dishonest because Seattle DID build an arena. They build one to NBA specs and after just 10 years there they decide to try and extract EVEN MORE from the city.
There is only two options here. He is either a shill for Satan Bennett or he is just completely dishonest like Satan.
What is becoming more and more clear as this scandal unfolds is that:
1) Satan Bennett defrauded Howard Schultz: Members of his ownership group now have the legal documentation they need to start a lawsuit to void the sale of the team.
2) Satan Bennett defrauded the league: He agreed to a “good faith best effort” to get an arena deal done. He also agreed to “affirm” that he would not attempt to relocate the team. Now that there is legal documentation to show that he never intended to keep either committment the league has the legal basis to remove the franchise from him. Should they choose to ignore these issues and vote to relocate anyhow they could find themselves facing anti-trust charges.
3) The Seattle region now is 100% on board to keeping the team here. There is a firm commitment to fund the new arena and an ownership group willing to buy the team. There are some loose ends that need to be tied but they will get done. Also the elected officials now will take every legal means there is to stop the team from leaving. No dollar amount will be considered only keeping the team here.
4) Should the league decide to let Clay bleed for two years here you can bet they will no longer consider helping him out financially. They have been lied to and will make him swing in the wind on his own. Lawsuits from sponsors, broadcast partners, and every imaginable angle will go after Satan Bennett for the loss of revenues. Part of the lease agreement requires him to make every attempt to maximize revenue so he will be in for a legal nightmare that is unimaginable.
Now OKC has to worry. They will not be getting the Sonics so they have to decide if they are going to cut their losses and move on or stay loyal to Satan Bennett and let the OKC taxpayers foot the never ending bill to try and ride this out. Meanwhile other teams will be sold and relocated and expansion teams will go to other cities while Clay keeps both the Seattle and OKC markets locked up. In the end OKC will probably end up with no team and a pile of tax bills.
Everyone knows that the Mayor used to work for Satan Bennett and it is pretty clear he is still on his payroll working for him not the taxpayers of OKC. You need to start calling for his resignation unless he seperates the city from this deal.
phillip, are you really comparing losing AAA baseball team, to what we have been through? if you are, that tells me you are not ready to be a big league city. also if you were on the verge of losing a minor league baseball team. i just feel sorry for your city.
and by the way, safeco is the nicest park in baseball(thats big league baseball) and like wise for qwest field.
darnell, any idea when either stern or bennett, plan on commenting.
(Joey, My best guess is Thursday, April 17 or Friday, April 18 at the BOG meetings. By then, however, these e-mails will be old news and the news of the hour will then be the relocation vote. -DM-)
Joey. You can be sure they are both under gag orders from their legal teams.
It will be interesting to see if Satan Bennet scammed his bff Stern or if Stern was part of this con job from the start. If Stern has been involved it will probably be the end of his run as Commissioner.
I expect you will see Stern and the league start to distance themselves from Satan and if it is determined that he scammed Stern as well then he may have his ownership revoked for violating the terms of his purchase agreement.
One thing is for sure, this is going to be a huge scandal.
Andy said…”Another example is stating that “all Seattle had to do was build an arena”. This of course is dishonest because Seattle DID build an arena. They build one to NBA specs and after just 10 years there they decide to try and extract EVEN MORE from the city.”
Two different ownership groups and the NBA have said that the KEY is unacceptable going forward. They have a very good case. The Key is the smallest arena with the fewest seats and the lowest revenue streams in the NBA. In two years the team will have fulfilled their committment to Seattle for the earlier remodel.
Andy said…..1) “Satan Bennett defrauded Howard Schultz: Members of his ownership group now have the legal documentation they need to start a lawsuit to void the sale of the team.”
I haven’t seen where Shultz or anyone else has made that claim…..got a link? or is this just your expert legal opinion?
Andy said……2) Satan Bennett defrauded the league: He agreed to a “good faith best effort” to get an arena deal done. He also agreed to “affirm” that he would not attempt to relocate the team. Now that there is legal documentation to show that he never intended to keep either committment the league has the legal basis to remove the franchise from him. Should they choose to ignore these issues and vote to relocate anyhow they could find themselves facing anti-trust charges.”
I haven’t read anyone with any credibilty make these claims…….got a link? or is this just your expert legal opinion?
Andy said…..3) The Seattle region now is 100% on board to keeping the team here. There is a firm commitment to fund the new arena and an ownership group willing to buy the team. There are some loose ends that need to be tied but they will get done. Also the elected officials now will take every legal means there is to stop the team from leaving. No dollar amount will be considered only keeping the team here.”
Uh oh….I think Andy may be a liar which would then make him Satan Andy…….
Can I see a link that shows the 100% commitment to fund a new arena?
I’ve seen the 75% vote on I-91 but I must have missed the 100% of the Seattle region being on board with keeping the team there….got a link?
Satan Andy said……..4) Should the league decide to let Clay bleed for two years here you can bet they will no longer consider helping him out financially. They have been lied to and will make him swing in the wind on his own. Lawsuits from sponsors, broadcast partners, and every imaginable angle will go after Satan Bennett for the loss of revenues. Part of the lease agreement requires him to make every attempt to maximize revenue so he will be in for a legal nightmare that is unimaginable.”
Can you supply any links to support any of these claims or are you just making this stuff up ( which of course is just a nice way of saying lying)
Satan Andy said…..”Now OKC has to worry. They will not be getting the Sonics so they have to decide if they are going to cut their losses and move on or stay loyal to Satan Bennett and let the OKC taxpayers foot the never ending bill to try and ride this out. Meanwhile other teams will be sold and relocated and expansion teams will go to other cities while Clay keeps both the Seattle and OKC markets locked up. In the end OKC will probably end up with no team and a pile of tax bills.”
You’ve gone completely off the deep end now, Satan Andy…….We’re only talking about riding out two years. Would you please list the teams that will be sold and relocating and the expansion plans for the next two years…… and at the end of two years, OKC will have a team and by then our tax bills will be paid and our remodeled arena will be paid off.
Satan Andy said…..”Everyone knows that the Mayor used to work for Satan Bennett and it is pretty clear he is still on his payroll working for him not the taxpayers of OKC. You need to start calling for his resignation unless he seperates the city from this deal.”
I didn’t know that Mayor Cornett ever worked for Dorchester Capital or any other company that Bennett owned……got a link or are you just making that up too?……
Satan Andy will you please show everyone how it’s “pretty clear he is still on his payroll working for him” because I think you’re lying through your teeth about this.
Our Mayor is very popular…..only a complete Idiot would ask him to resign…
.
andy, i would be shocked, if stern had nothin to do with this. one thing is for sure. he will save his own ass, and throw bennett under the bus.
i would love to read that e-mail!
Joey: The difference here will be proof. I have no doubt, as you said, that Stern is a willing player in this scandal but so far the only documents that have been made public show that Satan Bennett was lying to Stern and the NBA from day one.
I am sure you are right, Stern will throw his buddy under the bus to save his own hide but if the documents the league is trying to hide turn out to show Stern knew everything he will be a former commisioner in no time. He is supposed to be working for the best interest of the league not his best bud.
Digging through these emails is amazing. We have proof that Satan Bennett lied, the OKC Mayor lied, and they both did so in order to extract money from taxpayers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this could result in criminal charges at some point. Bigger men have been sent to jail for less.
Why did you ignore my post, Satan Andy?
Could it be because you’re completely full of B.S. and you can’t backup anything you say.
How embarrassing for you to be completely exposed as a liar on an OKC website.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this didn’t result in criminal charges at some point. Bigger men have been sent to jail for less.
from what i have been able to gather. it seems there are more e-mails that have not been released. and the ones that have not been made public, are actually more incriminating and damning.
what im trying to say is, DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING! and if so please tell!!
joey said….
“from what i have been able to gather. it seems there are more e-mails that have not been released. and the ones that have not been made public, are actually more incriminating and damning.”
Based on what? I’ve seen nothing that would indicate that.
This was done now to try to influence the BOG vote, If they had worse, it is logical to assume that they would have released them for maximum impact
this first wave, could simply be a threat. and if they keep screwing around, they will drop tthe bomb!
and when it really comes down to it. what are our poltical leaders doing? STILL NOTHING!!! makes me sick. i might have to vote for a republican!!
“this first wave, could simply be a threat. and if they keep screwing around, they will drop tthe bomb!”
Makes no sense, joey. There is nothing more important to Skeletor and the Seattle legal team than to get the BOG to deny the relocation request. If they had more, they would have used them now.
You must also know that the owners and NBA knew long ago what was in the emails. They were not surprised by this.
phillip, perhaps your right? maybe this is it. but i think e-mail gate, carrys a lot more weight with the bog than you think.
phillip says, you must know that the owners and NBA knew long ago what was in the e-mails. they were not suprised by this.
do you have any facts backing that up? or perhaps some links? or are you just assuming? or perhaps just lying?
Joey, you cute little dunce….
They wrote the emails and turned them over, of course they knew what was in them.
once again you again you evil drone. do you have evidence that the owners knew of this before hand? of course? who knew what? for all you know this could have been a bombshell to most rational thinking owners.
phillip you are a lot of large talk! nothing more!
bennett and his okc buddies! thats not the bog! usually smug people have a level of intelligence.
once again answer the question!!
(As much as I’m waiting for this thread to reach 100 posts — it’ll be the first time for this blog — at some point, Joey, you and Philip need to agree to disagree. Are both of you from OKC? -DM-)
owners,NBA,whatever. you make it sound as if all the owners were all passing this poison around. what i am saying you have no idea whether or not any owner knew about this, until the seattle times ran with the story. you phrased it as factual.
you always go after others, when you yourself constantly talk out of your a&&. thats it. im done with this.
Joey,
Never argue with an idiot. They just bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Just skip his posts and let him pee in his own bed.
I see a lot of people posting who think they are legal experts, but I see no evidence of legal minds. Every article in Seattle left out one e-mail from Tom Ward which stated: “I assume I will be ready to sell there and work on a team here if they build a new arena…” As always, journalists ignore anything that might take the air out of their “big story”.
This is a dangerous game Seattle is playing. Possible high rewards, but big risks as well. It all depends on who makes Stern madder. Is he incredibly angry with Clay Bennett for telling him the owners had never discussed the move amongst themselves. Stupid, I agree, but also completely unbelievable. If I were Stern, when I got that e-mail I’d have known I was being told a whopper. On the other hand, Seattle is asking for NBA e-mails and financial information and blowing a few private e-mails out of proportion in an attempt to keep the team in the city after years of intransigence and insolence on the arena issue.
If this goes Seattle’s way, good for you, lucky for you. If it doesn’t, bye bye second team and perhaps bye bye name Sonics, at least until Stern is gone. Of course, if the name is gone, it’s gone forever.
I see a lot of energy in Seattle. If someone had spent all this energy getting an arena built, no one would have anything to talk about. If someone had remodeled the Key for Howard Schultz no one would have anything to talk about.
And, after finding this blog, I don’t feel sorry for anyone on the Seattle Times website complaining about Okie trolls. There appear to be quite a few from Seattle as well.
Oklahoma City people seem to be so misled on the situation that is going on here in Seattle. There is so much more than what Bennett’s wife’s newspaper is telling you.
The whole reason these e-mails are big news is because it shows that Bennett is a liar and did not hold up the end of his bargain when he bought the team from Schultz. He bought the team under the condition that he would make a “good faith effort” to keep the team in Seattle for at least 12 months and if they couldn’t come up with an arena, then he could move (at least that’s what the contract that Bennett signed said). He didn’t.
He never negotiated with the city or state on an arena and his ONLY proposal was a $500 million arena outside of Seattle (in the town of Renton) that was paid for 100% by the taxpayers, and because it isn’t in Seattle, he would get almost ALL of the revenue. You can point to that 1 e-mail that says they might consider staying if the state agrees to that proposal, but who wouldn’t do that deal if someone else paid for everything and you got all the revenue for it?
9 months after buying the team and 3 months before the deadline was when that proposal was shot down and when the e-mails of moving the team popped up. He still had plenty of time to get an arena deal done if he really intended on following the contact he signed and making that “good faith effort” he said he would make.
What these e-mails show is that Bennett violated the contract that he signed, which can (and should) result in him getting sued by Schultz’s group and possibly forcing him to sell. It also proves that he lied to Stern when he told Stern he was trying his hardest to keep the team in Seattle while e-mailing his buddies in the PBC about how he could break the lease and how excited he was that there was finally going to be an NBA team in Oklahoma City.
And if you think that these e-mails are the only ones out there that have been uncovered, then you’re wrong. According to someone working closely with Save Our Sonics, there are e-mails where he discusses his plans to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City only 10 days after buying the team. I won’t be surprised though when you call BS on this last claim and ignore the rest of the post because it really doesn’t matter since your beliefs on the validity of this last claim won’t change the fact that it’s true.
Jill, I have read what you have posted on OKC sites. I have to say that you are making judgments and statements on issues of which you have only a small understanding (or it appears that way).
I understand why you and other OKC residents would like a professional team, but it has become very clear to me that you guys do not understand the economics of professional sports. It is not as simple as you would like it to be.
How you can just try to sweep under the rug that Bennett DEMANDED a $500M arena from Seattle without putting one cent into it. That just doesn’t fly in cities with professional sports. Seattle has TWO world class sports venues that were a government/private partnership that are working well for all parties. Both of them are extremely successful venues and will be paid off earlier than anticipated.
Had Bennett’s group actually worked with the government agencies, he and his group would have had a WORLD CLASS arena in Seattle. Seattle has a history of doing it up right when it is done correctly. Not DEMANDS . . . WORK together. It works here if the team is not owned by stupid dolts.
Bennett reminds Seattleites of Ken Behring. He even moved the Seahawks to SoCal for a few weeks until he was forced to return the team to Seattle and eventually sell it to Paul Allen.
And here is something else you might want to know. Seattle is not afraid of Stern. Seattle successfully sued Major League Baseball and won. For almost the same thing that Bennett is trying to do right now. The man who led the litigation? That would be Slade Gorton. If you don’t know that name, you eventually will.
By the way, Seattle’s law firm representing them is one of the top law firms in the United States. The “Gates” in it is Bill Gates’ dad.
“Had Bennett’s group actually worked with the government agencies, he and his group would have had a WORLD CLASS arena in Seattle”
Yeah…Look at how successful Schultz and Ballmer were with your government agencies
“He bought the team under the condition that he would make a “good faith effort” to keep the team in Seattle for at least 12 months ”
Actions speak louder than emails…He spent a good amount of money and made a proposal that wouldn’t raise taxes and was endorsed by the chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee
“Seattle is not afraid of Stern.”
And vice versa I’m sure
“Actions speak louder than emails…He spent a good amount of money and made a proposal that wouldn’t raise taxes and was endorsed by the chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee”
Do you seriously believe that his proposal wouldn’t raise taxes? It was a $500 million palace that was all paid for by the taxpayers. The reason nobody liked the proposal was because it would raise taxes and the people wouldn’t get anything in return. I would recommend reading more than an Oklahoma newspaper if you want an unbiased view of the situation.
And who cares that his proposal was endorsed by 1 person? Mark Cuban is the 1 person that has publicly expressed his vote to reject the relocation. Does that mean that the other BOG voters feel the same way?
*The Sonics proposal, contained in Senate Bill 5986 and House Bill 2264, would allow King County to pay for the arena with several taxes currently dedicated to paying off Safeco Field, Qwest Field and the Kingdome.
The taxes include a portion of the retail sales tax as well as taxes on restaurant meals, car rentals and hotels in King County.
Those taxes would raise an estimated $1.1 billion between 2012 and 2032, according to estimates by legislative staff. Most of that money would be used to pay off the arena construction bonds and interest, but millions of dollars also would be available for arts groups and possible future maintenance on Safeco Field.
Although the arena would be publicly owned, the Sonics and Storm would be the principal tenants and would keep virtually all of the money from arena events — an arrangement similar to the one enjoyed by the Mariners and Seahawks at their stadiums.*
Basically the same deal done for the Mariners and Hawks
Oh and I guess I missed another supporter
*But the Sonics have powerful supporters, too. Gov. Christine Gregoire has touted the arena’s possible benefits, and Sen. Margarita Prentice, chairwoman of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee, has been a vocal supporter.*
Relax, Seattle. Its just another OK outlaw doin’ what outlaws do best. Yeah, Clay is stealin’ the team that Seattle built, but what really hurts is the oilman ethic that’s bleeding us far more than any public facility will.
“The arena could generate between $78 million and $152 million in new taxes over 25 years for the state, King County and local jurisdictions, the report by Seattle-based Berk and Associates says.”
Just in case you didn’t know Margarita Prentice’s hometown is Renton, so of course she would want an NBA arena there. It would boost the economy of Renton, at the expense of the rest of Washington state. Not to mention she would become a hero of Renton.
And for a person who laughs at Gregoire and how “stupid” she is, you finally seem to like what she has to say when it’s in your favor because she all the sudden is smart.
If a determined majority of Washington residents wanted to keep the Sonics they would stay. If a huge number of people picketed city hall, heckled Gregoire wherever she went and basically threatened to vote everyone out of office they would’ve gotten something done. But they didn’t. Politicians can be dishonest and corrupt but they always look out for their political well-being. If they feared Sonics fans they would’ve done more but they didn’t. Despite the passion of the diehard Sonics fans they don’t form a majority.
That isn’t the worst of it. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/04/09/2004338446.pdf
This is going to get seriously ugly and could send this whole deal south for Oklahoma City.