Dodgers' McCourt fires back at MLB
In an interview session with the Associated Press Sports Editors last week, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said, multiple times, "There are a lot of differences between the Mets' and Dodgers' situations."
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt agrees. Except he sees the situation dramatically differently.
"Do a comparison chart and look at where the Dodgers stand," McCourt said Wednesday at a news conference in Manhattan, in response to a question comparing the Dodgers and Mets. "Look at where the Dodgers stand in compliance. Look at where we are when it comes to seeking emergency funding from Major League Baseball.
" . . . Do another grid of what the Dodgers have done on the field."
The Mets, of course, asked for and received a $25-million loan last November, and they have struggled on the field in recent years.
McCourt essentially declared war on Selig, after a meeting with MLB officials (but not Selig) in Manhattan. In the wake of Selig appointing former Rangers president Tom Schieffer as the Dodgers' "monitor," McCourt called Selig's actions "un-American," and didn't rule out suing MLB. "I'm not going anywhere," McCourt said. "I will continue to run this club . . . I reject anyone coming in to seize my business."
In particular, McCourt expressed his unhappiness with MLB for vetoing what he described as a "fully negotiated, fully drafted," 17-year broadcast agreement with Fox that would bring forth an immediate payment of close to $300 million. This agreement, McCourt said, would stabilize his finances in the wake of his costly, embarrassing divorce from his estranged wife Jamie McCourt.
In response to Frank McCourt, MLB executive vice president of labor relations Rob Manfred issued a strongly-worded statement denying that Selig "vetoed" the Fox transaction. "Rather," the statement read, "Mr. McCourt was clearly told that the Commissioner would make no decision on any transaction until after his investigation into the Club and its finances is complete so that he can properly evaluate all of the facts and circumstances."
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