The NBA: Where money-hungry ownership happens

After 41 years in Seattle, the Supersonics are no more. On July 2, the city and the Sonics reached a $75 million settlement that terminated the two years remaining on the lease in Seattle and allowed the team to relocate to Oklahoma City. 

Sonics owner Clay Bennett purchased the team from Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz in 2006.   One cannot blame Bennett for wanting to bring a team to his hometown, but this entire ordeal of how a loyal fan base in the Pacific Northwest got shafted just reeks of corruption and greed.  

If you’re reading this column, you’re probably asking yourself: “Why should I care that a team in Seattle is relocating to Oklahoma City?” The reality is money-grubbing owners are willing to throw fan loyalty out the window if the price is right.  This saga has set a nasty precedent, meaning that what happened to the Emerald City can happen to your local team.  

After taking over the team, Bennett vowed to keep the Sonics in Seattle if the city was willing to allocate tax revenue toward funding a new arena.  Here’s the catch: Bennett set the asking price at $530 million, an unrealistic demand that would make it more likely that the city would balk at the idea of funding a new arena.  

Because the city was unwilling to pay the astronomical price, Bennett played off the scenario by claiming Seattle residents don’t care about the team, thus giving himself an excuse to move the team to Oklahoma.  Now that the Sonics are set to move, the Ford Center in Oklahoma City will be renovated to meet NBA standards. 

The $121 million facelift will be funded through (you guessed it) the tax dollars of Oklahoma City residents.    How does a billionaire businessman like Bennett have the nerve to shift the burden of fixing an arena to taxpayers when he has the financial means to do it himself?

Furthermore, how can he continue to assert that he made “good faith” efforts to keep the team in Seattle, even after leaked e-mails showed that he planned to move the team all along?  Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner David Stern chose to see past Bennett’s underhanded tactics. 

By siding with Bennett, the commissioner hinted that he is willing to wreck a fan base with four decades of devotion if it means preserving team owners’ bargaining power in forcing taxpayers to fund new arenas.   

In the end, there is blame to be passed around in all this: Schultz for selling the team to an owner with relocation plans, after his own failed plea for public funding (which he too could have provided himself); Bennett for his shrewd tactics and Stern for prioritizing league profits over fan loyalty.

It is sad how priceless memories of rooting for your favorite team through championship runs and playoff droughts do not mean a thing to these money-hungry executives. 

By making an example of the city of Seattle, Stern’s message to fans is clear: pay for your own arena or pay the price of having your team shipped out of town.