Team owner Dell Loy Hansen was the focus of the sporting world Thursday after he went on a regional radio program and castigated RSL players for not playing Wednesdays match against LAFC, a protest of cops violence that echoed through the NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS. It was a bombshell report from The Athletic that triggered the biggest issues for Hansen.
RSL scout Andy Williams, currently on furlough from the club, told the publication that Hansen had actually joked about “lynching” an opposing teams gamer after he scored a goal against RSL. Hansen also apparently said RSL defender Aaron Maund “looked like a criminal” in an elevator discussion.
After the most troubled 24-hour period in franchise history, the next age in Real Salt Lake history might be coming.
The fallout was swift. By Thursday night, Major League Soccer revealed it would perform an investigation into the RSL owners supposed conduct. The MLS gamers association called for Hansens instant suspension, and required that the league force him to sell the group, if the claims are corroborated.
Can the league force an owner to give up a franchise?
The Miller group has revealed an interest in expanding its portfolio prior to. In 2005, they bought the Salt Lake Bees from the Drammis family, taking control of operations at the arena then referred to as Franklin Covey Field. In 2015, they bought the G-League Idaho Stampede, moving them to Utah to work more carefully as the farm team with the Utah Jazz.
On Thursday he said, “Its taken a great deal of wind out of my sails, what effort I wish to take into hiring players and building a terrific group. It just seems thats not a great path to take.”.
Williams, a former RSL gamer who worked as head scout before being furloughed in April, told The Salt Lake Tribune that he thinks Hansen should sell the team.
Im in … they got my number– Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) August 27, 2020
Section 14, Part D specifies the leagues board of governors can terminate an owners interest in a team if 75% of the owners vote to do so.” I dont think he desires a group to win,” Williams said. I want someone thats willing to put money in, to put the work in, and say, Alright were going to build a champion team.
Julie Hansen said her partner revealed his assistance for the Black Lives Matter movement by reading and providing out the book “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander. She also stated Hansen donated $150,000 to a little village in Malawi, Africa, “all to raise mankind (all black).”.
Hansens other half, Julie, defended her hubby in the form of text messages sent to news station KUTV on Friday. In those messages, which were published by the station on Twitter, she states Hansen “does not have a racist bone in his body” and went on to describe the owners philanthropy and his bringing the Utah Royals FC group into the marketplace.
” I do not believe he desires a group to win,” Williams stated. “I want somebody that wishes to win here for these fans, for the state of Utah. I desire someone thats willing to put cash in, to put the operate in, and say, Alright were going to construct a champion team. Were going to do whatever it takes whichs all I want.”.
MLS has actually offered no sign that such a relocation is in the offing. However, there is some precedent for the league actioning in to change an ownership circumstance: in 2014, MLS purchased Chivas USA back from owner Jorge Vergara. The club then folded before the following season, and a second Los Angeles-area expansion club, LAFC, was started in 2018.
Hansen also lamented that the clubs preparation to welcome 5,000 fans to Rio Tinto Stadium for the very first time given that March had basically been for naught. He stated he felt disrespected by the players decision and even suggested he was going to lay off staff members and possibly no longer invest financially into the group.
Outrage quickly put out from the sports world, most notably from United States femaless national team player Megan Rapinoe and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. Both gamers gotten in touch with Hansen to offer the team.
Hansen later walked back his remarks, but the report of racial slurs used raised the immediacy of the conversation. After that, the MLS Players Association released its declaration requiring an examination and that Hansen be required to sell the group if the claims held true.
The Athletics story was released hours after Hansen said he felt “profound frustration” that RSL and LAFC decided not to play Wednesday in uniformity with other sports groups objecting the authorities shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
If MLS requires a short-lived local operator, LHM Sports & & Entertainment might take that function. That possibly might then become a purchase arrangement, as a sale unfolds in accordance to terms set out in the MLS constitution.
” No one supports equality more than this male,” part of Julie Hansens text said.
Hansen himself might be wearying of expert sports ownership.
Yes. The MLS Constitution offers a method.
Smith and his household offered Qualtrics to market giant SAP in 2018 for $8 billion, so presumably he d have the monetary wherewithal to make such a purchase.
RSL scout Andy Williams, presently on furlough from the club, told the publication that Hansen had joked about “lynching” an opposing groups player after he scored an objective against RSL. The MLS gamers association called for Hansens instant suspension, and required that the league force him to sell the group, if the claims are validated.
Forbes approximated Real Salt Lakes value to be at $235 million in 2019, though that estimate does not consist of any of Hansens property or stadiums. Most Likely, Rio Tinto Stadium and the Zions Bank Real Academy would be moved in any purchase, which would increase the cost. That being stated, the pandemic and unpredictability surrounding fans in stadiums has probably had an effect on the value of any sports franchise in 2020.
There may also be another celebration at play. Ryan Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics, has actually publicly expressed an interest in purchasing the franchise. When Donovan Mitchell tweeted his support of the RSL players boycott– and his discouragement at Hansens displeasure– fans asked if Smith would want to purchase the franchise. Smith reacted “Im in … they got my number.”
In Real Salt Lakes case, the league itself would be unlikely to buy the club. Because sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune that a number of local purchasers have expressed interest, thats.
Area 14, Part D states the leagues board of governors can end an owners interest in a group if 75% of the owners vote to do so. They would need to discover that “the team operator or any owner has failed to act in the finest interest of the league.” If that 75% limit is fulfilled, an owner would have 6 months to sell the team.
If those 6 months pass without a sale, the league could then sell the team itself to a buyer approved by the board of guvs “at such cost and on such terms as the commissioner deems proper and sensible.”
Lastly, Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore also said he was associated with a group that was all set to buy the group. Its unclear what group hes connected with, or what their strategies for the club would be.
First, theres the leviathan. Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Utah Jazz and the Salt Lake Bees, has actually previously expressed a determination to handle RSL, according to sources within the company, who asked for privacy to discuss internal business considerations.
