Collapse of Hawks’ sale is just one more Spirit nightmare
Alex Meruelo is out as Hawks' owner. That means ...
(Updated at 5:45 p.m.)
The only thing worse than bad ownership in professional sports is uncertain ownership. We have been cursed with both.
The sale of the Hawks from the Atlanta Spirit to Alex Meruelo has gone from in danger of falling apart to officially dead. Our Tim Tucker reports that the deal was terminated by mutual agreement.
This is what it means to you: There is nobody minding the office. Not Meruelo, who presumably never had the funding and/or wouldn’t provide the financial guarantees as laid out by the NBA to purchase a franchise, his claims to the contrary not withstanding. His purchase was announced Aug. 7. The dissolution of deal was revealed 89 days later on Nov. 4. This lasted only slightly
... These guys are back running the show.
longer than a Kim Kardashian marriage (72 days) — the only problem being that most consider this closer to real life.
Not the Atlanta Spirit. They weaseled out of NHL ownership and sent the Thrashers to Winnipeg, and now they’re looking to liquidate themselves of the Hawks and Philips Arena’s operating rights so they can get out of the sports business.
Not even Hawks’ employees, who aren’t in a position to make decisions because they don’t know who their boss is or what
Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries lasted nearly as long as Meruelo's "ownership."
their boss wants.
One of the Spirit’s partners, Bruce Levenson, released a statement, saying: “The Atlanta Hawks are no longer for sale. We’re excited to remain as owners of the Hawks and are committed to building on our string of four straight playoff appearances.”
And why shouldn’t we believe Levenson? Doesn’t he always speak the truth?
(Pause for effect.)
And if you were trying to sell a property, wouldn’t you be “excited” when that deal fell apart?
(Pause again.)
The Spirit basically has gone from bad ownership to relative absentee ownership because their primary objective now is to sell the team, not improve it.
Granted, the NBA is in a lockout, and there is no sign of that ending any time soon. The league already has canceled a month’s worth of games. In that sense, a case could be made that the Hawks haven’t lost any ground during this expanded offseason. But other NBA teams can at least look at their roster, their payroll and their coaching staff and plan for the future. They can prepare themselves for next season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Hawks? Well, imagine that you owned a team and you were looking to sell it. Your focus would be on finding a buyer, cutting overhead and maybe dusting the office furniture and vacuuming the rugs for any interested party who wanted to give the place the once over. It certainly wouldn’t be in investing time, money and resources to improve the product or cater to the fan base.
The problems created by Meruelo’s exit are compounded by a depressed economy, one that is thin on potential sports owners and ownership groups. It follows that Levenson, Michael Gearon, et. al. likely will continue in the executive suite for sometime. The Atlanta Spirit’s attempts to leave have become as big a headache as their attempt at sports ownership.
It’s the nightmare that won’t end.
By Jeff Schultz
• Earlier: Weekend Predictions: Guaranteed winners (I’m serious this time)
• Earlier: Alabama-LSU have what everybody else wants — a great coach
Follow me on Twitter (@JeffSchultzAJC). Friend me on Facebook (Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC).
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
168 comments Add your comment
Big Wally
November 4th, 2011
6:35 pm
It’s easy to know when the Atlanta Spirit Group is lying – their lips will be moving.
dre
November 4th, 2011
6:38 pm
I am completely shocked – shocked that none of you said “first!” like an idiot.
jarvis
November 4th, 2011
6:43 pm
G-d-it!
JSS
November 4th, 2011
6:51 pm
Well after all of the vein juggling and posturing here in commentaries (using the term lightly); where are the fans of professional basketball really at now in terms of the future?
As obvious that it is that they can’t run franchises; it is even more mind-blogging that they cannot even hire competent people to even sell one! Where does the point come that the league steps in like they did in New Orleans?
CONservative Johnson
November 4th, 2011
6:56 pm
Alex “Herman Cain” Meruelo’s “purchase” has fallen through. Who didn’t see that coming? I know I did!
Rutherford Seydel
November 4th, 2011
6:56 pm
Yeah!!!! I’m still a big shot! Suck it world!
Vain Jangling
November 4th, 2011
6:58 pm
Say, whatever happened to John Drew? I used to love his post-game interviews. Did anyone ever figure out what language he was speaking?
PTC DAWG
November 4th, 2011
6:59 pm
What are the “Hawks”?
ASG = garbage
November 4th, 2011
7:00 pm
This group of bozos is the worst thing to ever happen to Atlanta sports. It’s to the point where words can no longer describe how bad they’ve been.
smooth Eddie Peskowitz
November 4th, 2011
7:04 pm
Rutherford, you little punk. I’m going to hunt you down and beat you like a rented mule. I WILL get that $20 back.
Vain Jangling
November 4th, 2011
7:04 pm
If only daddy’s money hadn’t ran out. Well, who’s for sushi?
Jeff
November 4th, 2011
7:04 pm
Joe Johnson owns the Hawks.
shawn
November 4th, 2011
7:05 pm
ASG is the biggest liar in Atlanta sport history. Please, make these idiots go away…
Greg
November 4th, 2011
7:07 pm
I hope that every member of the Atlanta Spirit Group ends up bankrupt, and has to end up living with those tent bums downtown! LETS GO THRASHERS— the thrashers will never die in my heart! FU SPIRIT YOU BUMS! BRING HOCKEY BACK TO ATLANTA!
JSS
November 4th, 2011
7:10 pm
John Drew is driving cabs… And like most late 70’s Coke heads, he was a functioning illiterate most of the time…
Falclone
November 4th, 2011
7:25 pm
Come on Arthur…Belly up to the bar and end our suffering!! You have infected us all with “Falcon Fever” the likes of which we have not known since the hay days of Tommy Nobis.. Hell….we can double up some players even…Lets see…John Abraham as point guard….Matt Ryan as an outside shooter..and….I could go on….
Buy the Hawks from theswe low-life money mongers and hell…I’ll even stop by and look at all them fish on the way to a game…
SmyrnaBob
November 4th, 2011
7:29 pm
Frank McCourt might have some credit soon. But seriously it is better that this guy was never involved if he could not afford them.
Tom Lysiak
November 4th, 2011
7:35 pm
Love that sweet tasting karma these scumbags are wallowing in. The old heart warms looking at the blank nights on the Philips Arena “calendar of events”. The only fitting end for hockey fans would be for the Atlanta Suing Group to have to default before someone with a clue steps in, losing every possible dime.
What a monument to stepping up from fantasy league teams to the real thing, only because you have some money……
B. Thenet
November 4th, 2011
7:36 pm
All I know is this: Someone is going to get sued over this.
At the very least these morons are going to generate some business for the economy with their lawyers(provided they do not end up suing their own lawyers again of course)
GT
November 4th, 2011
7:37 pm
Again, let me say its the NBA, no body cares
GT Alum
November 4th, 2011
7:37 pm
Maybe the lockout will drag on and JJ will get injured playing in another league, which will allow us to void his contract.
CrazyDiamond
November 4th, 2011
7:49 pm
We are so screwed.
Matt the Brave
November 4th, 2011
8:07 pm
Man, I wonder if ole Teddy boy has enough dough to buy the Hawks back.
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
November 4th, 2011
8:08 pm
Yeeeeaaaaahhhh!!!!! Oh, there is a God afterall…..Thank you Sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!
Let the “Spirit” (pun intended) bleed money until they can bleed no more. This is what they deserve for stabbing all the Thrashers fans in the back.
Hope they go bankrupt, and if the Hawks leave the ATL…..who cares?? NBA sucks anyway. But I bet Mayor Kasim Reed won’t be so cavalier if the basketball team leaves the city…..
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
November 4th, 2011
8:13 pm
Hey, maybe Schultz is on to something……maybe Kim Kardashian could buy the team…..she’s just as stupid as the 3 losers of the ASG in the picture above…..
….but at least she’s something pleasant to look at!!!
Objective fan
November 4th, 2011
8:17 pm
EXTEND THE LOCKOUT!!!!!! Go away until 2015!!!!!
cukooforkovalchuk
November 4th, 2011
8:27 pm
The only thing that would make this news better would be if it somehow cost Gary Bettman money. Oh, and if the story came with figures about how much ASG was losing per day due to the lockout. This story warms my heart.
Ezekiel
November 4th, 2011
8:32 pm
All that is left to figure out is who has the biggest boobs.. Kim or ASG?? How do you feel about that, Jeff?
shankit
November 4th, 2011
8:40 pm
Schultzie – Off the subject, but a good article for Sunday
Assuming the Dawgs win Satdy,
After Satdy nite, Mark Richt and the Dawgs will have the
second longest winning streak in the SEC, and I believe
including Oklahoma, Clemson, Ga. Tech, Wisconsin, Michigan State,
Southern Cal, and a host of others.
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
November 4th, 2011
8:54 pm
shankit….this is a Hawks blog…
as for UGA (and I am a UGA fan)……wake me up when they beat a RANKED team!!!!
until then….FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
Octoman
November 4th, 2011
9:15 pm
Don’t care about the Hawks, don’t care about the NBA to begin with and then one reads about this kind of nonsense going on. Who can take it seriously?
Sara
November 4th, 2011
9:35 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Fitting that about the only thing going on at Philips this year will be the Circus.
GT Alum
November 4th, 2011
9:50 pm
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams -
Around here, I could just as well say who gives a sh*t about hockey. Bet there’s more people in this city that care about basketball than ice hockey. And the Hawks at least have over 40 years of history in this city.
What?
November 4th, 2011
9:57 pm
How are the Thrashers doing this year? I have been focusing on college football.
Chasjons
November 4th, 2011
10:06 pm
So hard to remain a Hawks fan after 30 years of watching a failed product. The only glory days were the Nique years. Now we have to worry about ownership more than anything. At least we have Blank for the Falcons and a good group of guys running the show for the Braves albeit with budget constraints from Liberty Media. Hawks are the black sheep.
Wayne stuck in AL
November 4th, 2011
10:07 pm
JEFF:
I’m enjoying the hell out of this…One question: would Gearon & Levenson lose LESS or MORE money the longer the NBA lockout goes?
Who Cares?
November 4th, 2011
10:18 pm
The Hawks have never and will never be relevant. Just leave town and take the ASG with you. Neither of you will be missed!
cpsman_atlanta
November 4th, 2011
10:28 pm
BOYCOTT ATLANTA SPIRIT GROUP!!!!
Let me repeat again, BOYCOTT ATLANTA SPIRIT GROUP!!!!
zulu
November 4th, 2011
10:38 pm
I would be shocked to hear that any of these idiots made their own money. Each must have had to get the cash from their daddy.
kreedham
November 4th, 2011
10:43 pm
Since the lockout still goes on and the ASG is still(back) in control look for the layoffs at Hawks HQ to begin!
kirkinga
November 4th, 2011
10:53 pm
I blame the NBA every bit as much as ASG.
It seems to me that the very first threshold a prospective owner should have to meet is whether or not s/he has the money to purchase. It should be that way so as to avoid upsetting the fans.
I thought there were people who specialized in discreetly matching teams on the market with interested and qualified people looking to buy a pro franchise? Why didn’t ASG use the same guy That Time Warner used when it wanted to sale the Braves, Hawks, and Thrashers?
lukifurcub
November 4th, 2011
10:54 pm
If I’m not mistaken, wouldn’t if a new owner wanted to move the hawks, he would have to pay off all the bonds and loans on Phillips Arena, since they were the reason it was built in the first place. I was thinking that them playing until it was completely paid off was a condition of it being built.
And I was really hoping to get rid of the ASG. I need to get to a Glad’s game so I can get one of the not moving to Canada shirts.
tonyb
November 4th, 2011
11:11 pm
Jeff, you mean sick like the sick we all felt watching a little nothing town in Canada make off with our NHL franchise because of these owners who dare call themselves ATLANTA Spirit Group. If Hawk fans are smart, they award this group with an empty building night after night.
WitStream
November 4th, 2011
11:36 pm
I think the ASG is a joke just like the next guy, but this particular twist is clearly not their fault. Trying to spin it like that jackasses they are is though, I guess
As an aside, I still can’t believe Joe Johnson was given a max contract. When, oh when can I root for this team again?
david
November 4th, 2011
11:41 pm
There is not going to be an NBA season this. How soon before the ASG goes to the mayor to raise taxes to pay for the arena’s losses? Maybe Reed should of done something to keep the Thrashers from moving? I’m sure it will be debated during the next election.
If the NBA allowed the Sonics to leave Seattle, they will not stop the Hawks from leaving Atlanta. Kansas City, Louisville, Anaheim, and Las Vegas are cities that want an NBA team. The Hawks will be gone by 2014.
david
November 4th, 2011
11:42 pm
There is not going to be an NBA season this year. How soon before the ASG goes to the mayor to raise taxes to pay for the arena’s losses? Maybe Reed should of done something to keep the Thrashers from moving? I’m sure it will be debated during the next election.
If the NBA allowed the Sonics to leave Seattle, they will not stop the Hawks from leaving Atlanta. Kansas City, Louisville, Anaheim, and Las Vegas are cities that want an NBA team. The Hawks will be gone by 2014.
Gabriel
November 4th, 2011
11:50 pm
Watch the Spirit get hurt, watch them!
Jamal Crawford
November 5th, 2011
12:03 am
SEE YA!
Josh Smith
November 5th, 2011
12:05 am
Don’t worry guys. I’m working on my jumper as we speak!
schultz likes ASG
November 5th, 2011
12:08 am
Better idea for the Three stooges of basketball owners….if ever play all hawk fans come in wear Home thrashers uniforms under u shirt so when enter u can whip off shirt n show the thrashers jersey all game lets see them eject all 20,000 folks out n try take it from U….and wave and it around n Boo the Owners so they get upset and cry!