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Bennett has thrown a tantrum in the face of this stubborn fact, taking a scorched-earth
approach of insulting Seattle fans until they beg him to leave.
By Dave Zirin
(Reprinted by permission of the
author)
For everyone who thinks sports
should bolster and not betray
communities, consider this a call
to arms. NBA commissioner David
Stern has let it be
known that when it comes to the
battle for the Sonics, he will stand
with owner Clay Bennett and his
Oklahoma rustlers over the basketball
fans of Seattle.
Bennett, a man who has spent
less time in Seattle than the sun,
has made it clear that unless a
deluxe, publicly funded arena is
built, he will take “his team” and
move it to his home base in Oklahoma
City (the city of Seattle
has resisted his efforts). Without
shame, Bennett is holding economic
hostage a city with serious
education and health care shortfalls.
Stern’s recent comments show
that he will back the billionaire
Bennett over the people who
have supported the Sonics for
four decades. “I’d love to find a
way to keep the team there,” he
said, “because if the team moves,
there’s not going to be another
team there, not in any conceivable
future plan that I could envision,
and that would be too bad.”
This hasn’t exactly been a great
recent run for Stern – what with
a betting scandal involving a referee,
the flap over his dress code
and a failed experiment with a
synthetic basketball – but this
moment is his absolute nadir.
Stern is siding with a man who
has made it his intention from
Day 1 to break Seattle’s heart by
any means necessary. Bennett
hasn’t acted in bad faith, he has
acted in no faith.
“When the team was bought
from the previous ownership,
they told us and everybody in the
city that they sold it to a group
that they thought would most
likely keep the team in the city,”
former Sonics star Ray Allen,
who was traded to the Celtics
last off-season, told the Boston
Globe. “Everybody thought that
was some [bull]. How is someone
from Oklahoma City going to
buy a team in Seattle who doesn’t
have any ties and has big money
in Oklahoma? If things don’t go
right, everybody’s craving for the
team to move to Oklahoma City.”
Bennett has already filed for
relocation. His minority partner
Aubrey McClendon said in August
that Bennett’s group “didn’t
buy the team to keep it in Seattle.”
There is a slight problem, however,
with the plan to put the team
in Sooner country: The Sonics’
lease at Seattle’s KeyArena lasts
through the 009- 010 season.
Bennett has thrown a tantrum
in the face of this stubborn fact,
taking a scorched-earth approach
of insulting Seattle fans until they
beg him to leave. His lawyers have
called Sonics boosters agitating
to keep the team a “disturbing
fringe element,” and also claimed
that, “a majority of the public has
accepted the team’s imminent
departure. The sentiment among
many is, ‘Who cares?’ “ Amazing
how clear a view of Seattle Bennett
can have from across the
country.
By siding with Bennett and Mc-
Clendon, Stern is also giving the
back of his hand to the WNBA.
The Seattle Storm’s two high-profile
stars, Lauren Jackson and Sue
Bird, have shown no interest in
moving to Oklahoma City … It’s
time to stop the madness. From
Slick Watts to Shawn Kemp, from
the Xavier McDaniel scene in
Singles to Tom Chambers’ mullet,
from Shawn Kemp to Bird,
the SuperSonics – and the Storm
– are Seattle. To the people of the
Emerald City, it’s time to go on offense.
Until now, you have threatened
lawsuits to keep the team
an extra couple years. But that
will just delay Bennett’s agenda.
It’s time to get serious. It’s time to
talk municipalization.
Municipalization means turning
the Sonics into a public utility;
call it a kind word for expropriation.
Basketball fans should press
the state of Washington to sue
for the right to buy the team back
Early February, 008 • Warren County Report • Page 1
from Clay and his cronies. They
should claim that the SuperSonics
and Storm are the intellectual
property -- the eminent domain
-- of the people of Seattle, and
therefore the city has far more of
a claim on the team than the Bennetts
of Oklahoma.
The Sonics should get their
new arena, but instead of the
proceeds going to build another
wing on Bennett Manor, the
funds would go to rebuilding the
city’s health care and educational
infrastructure. Imagine seeing
someone wearing a Kevin Durant
jersey on the street and knowing
that instead of draining the tax
base of a city, it was paying for
new textbooks in a public school
classroom.
Does this seem far-fetched?
Ask the city of Green Bay, where
the beloved Packers are actu-
Sports
Time for the Take:
Why Seattle Should Seize the Sonics
Check out the all new
warrencountyreport.com
ally publicly owned. They are the
only publicly owned team in the
United States. It’s time to add to
that list.
This is bigger than the Sonics.
This is about drawing a line
against the subsidizing of stadiums
by which public monies are
delivered to private hands. No
more Mr. Flannel-Shirted Nice
Guy. The Sonics stay in Seattle.
They belonged to the Emerald
City long before they belonged to
Clay Bennett.
[Dave Zirin is the author of the
new book “Welcome to the Terrordome:”
with an intro by Chuck
D (Haymarket). You can receive
his column Edge of Sports, every
week by going to http://zirin.com/
edgeofsports/?p=subscribe&id=1.
Contact him at edgeofsports@
gmail.com
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