Grunfeld's job in jeopardy for coverup?

[montestewart]

The Post article is kind of dopey, because right now there's nobody that has the authority to fire Ernie anyway because there's no owner. In the future, once someone is put in that position, well yeah, Ernie is in trouble for many reasons, including this.

So way to go out on a limb guys.

That's probably not true. Though he may have created some sort of trust to carry his sports holdings, I haven't heard about such a thing. Mr. Pollin's estate probably control's his assets, and the executor or representative of the estate usually has the right and authority to act in the best interests of the estate. That person is probably a lawyer (maybe it's Pollin's wife?) who may have no idea what to do regarding such a decision, but a decision could be made in consultation with his wife and other heirs, and if the passing of controlling interest to Leonsis were a near certainty awaiting only the pricing of the assets, the estate would have an interest in including Leonsis (already a minority partner with some limited input) in the decision process.

[eltacoman]

dam... if Ernie did cover something up then we should move on to another GM ... the new GM might not be as pressured or low balled by other GMs in trades like Ernie seems to be or will be

dam man this sucks

[Pradamaster]

The Post article is kind of dopey, because right now there's nobody that has the authority to fire Ernie anyway because there's no owner. In the future, once someone is put in that position, well yeah, Ernie is in trouble for many reasons, including this.

So way to go out on a limb guys.

That's probably not true. Though he may have created some sort of trust to carry his sports holdings, I haven't heard about such a thing. Mr. Pollin's estate probably control's his assets, and the executor or representative of the estate usually has the right and authority to act in the best interests of the estate. That person is probably a lawyer (maybe it's Pollin's wife?) who may have no idea what to do regarding such a decision, but a decision could be made in consultation with his wife and other heirs, and if the passing of controlling interest to Leonsis were a near certainty awaiting only the pricing of the assets, the estate would have an interest in including Leonsis (already a minority partner with some limited input) in the decision process.

Well, I guess it's not literally true that nobody can fire Ernie right now, but like you mentioned, we're talking about Ernie's future at this moment, which is currently controlled by members of the Pollin estate that are on the outside looking in in terms of the Wizards (remember, his sons didn't want the team). It's hard to say Ernie's imminently going to be fired when it's hard to pinpoint who exactly does the firing.

Once Ted takes over? That'll change, for sure. Right now, it's tough though.

[montestewart]

^
As you observe, a firing is likely not imminent. Just as with Arenas and Crittendon, I'm not rushing in on EG because I don't know what happened, what he knew, when he knew it, and what his obligations were. I like the idea of replacing EG, especially before the draft, but I'm not in any dire rush to get it done right this second, and he's likely the best we could have right now to make deals before the deadline that could help the Wizards long term.

[Hoopalotta]

The Mikes Jones scoop makes it sound like Ernie did nothing that would get him in trouble vis-a-vis this situation and a cover up.

I'm told Ernie Grunfeld learned of the spat and first heard Arenas pulled a gun in the locker room and then reported him to the league office. At that time, I'm told Grunfeld began considering either voiding Arenas' contract or trading him. Upon further investigation, Grunfeld learned more of the facts and has cooled slightly and is in a wait and see mode.

http://www.mikejonessports.com/2010/01/ ... ecome.html

[montestewart]

I don't know. Depends on how close you are to stepdad, monte.

Estranged stepdad(?), worse team, worse coach vs Wizards?

That's a tough call.

But if you and stepdad are tight, go for the 76ers. I believe they'll be much better the second half of the season.

We actually like going to games together (only time I ever went to a baseball all-star game was with him) and we haven't done it for a long time. Could be worth the trip; we could compare EJ notes.

[closg00]

The Mikes Jones scoop makes it sound like Ernie did nothing that would get him in trouble vis-a-vis this situation and a cover up.

I'm told Ernie Grunfeld learned of the spat and first heard Arenas pulled a gun in the locker room and then reported him to the league office. At that time, I'm told Grunfeld began considering either voiding Arenas' contract or trading him. Upon further investigation, Grunfeld learned more of the facts and has cooled slightly and is in a wait and see mode.

http://www.mikejonessports.com/2010/01/ ... ecome.html

Yep, looks like Ernie will hang-on a bit longer. The Jones piece puts everything into perspective, it was pretty-much some joking that got out of hand. However, the word of the guns has gotten-out so Gil & Crit are going to have to pay the price. I predict a season-killing suspension for Gilbert, possibly up to 10 games.

[Hoopalotta]

Yep, looks like Ernie will hang-on a bit longer.

You must be ecstatic, no?

The Jones piece puts everything into perspective, it was pretty-much some joking that got out of hand. However, the word of the guns has gotten-out so Gil & Crit are going to have to pay the price. I predict a season-killing suspension for Gilbert, possibly up to 10 games.

I think Jones really nailed it and we can finally look at the thing and understand; it was a great piece of reporting and if there is any justice in the world, he'll soon have another gig doing his thing.

I agree in your assessment as to the ramifications as well. I don't know if Crit's going to get punished at this point as it doesn't sound like he interacted with a gun other than to throw away one of Gils (though maybe I'm misunderstanding it). But Gil, yeah, I could see a 10-20 game suspension considering the kind of message Stern wants to send.

And the whole DC law/possible felony charges regardless of intent is a real wild card here.

[LyricalRico]

Yep, looks like Ernie will hang-on a bit longer.