Atlanta Spirit co-owner labels Belkin as 'evil'

[HMFFL]

Now there’s no question what seven of the owners of the Hawks and Thrashers think of the eighth, Boston-based Steve Belkin.

They think he’s plain evil.

In a memo cited in court Tuesday by Belkin’s attorney, Atlanta Spirit LLC co-owner Bruce Levenson mentions “Belkin’s misdeeds” as a business partner and says his wrongdoings should have a “not-so-subliminal affect against the evil Belkin.”

The eight owners have been sparring for years — sometimes over petty stuff such as who got the best seats at that NBA All-Star Game. But Tuesday they were lined up in a Maryland courtroom asking a judge to hammer out the process for the other partners to buy out Belkin, who owns a 30 percent stake in the teams.

Belkin’s attorney, Jack Fabiano, argued that the other owners wanted Belkin out of the group ever since they bought the Hawks and Thrashers in March 2004. At the time, Belkin was the Hawks’ representative to the NBA, but even though there was such an agreement, “they were crowing about how they built relationships with the players,” Fabiano said.

http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/busine ... trial.html

I'm willing to bet David McDavid is saying the same about the ASG.

[LL Cool Scott]

I label the entire group of clowns as evil.

[HMFFL]

Belkin: I don’t trust Hawks-Thrashers co-owners

The payout Boston-based co-owner Steve Belkin seeks is too high, the teams’ other owners said.

But Belkin counters it’s not high enough.

The seven other owners, who are trying to buy out Belkin’s 30 percent stake in the teams, argue that $140 million in personal guarantees by the partners need to be subtracted before any math is done on how much the teams are worth.

That amount — which includes $25 million in guarantees required by the NBA and NHL — was included in an original contract when the eight owners bought the teams from Turner Broadcasting System in 2004.

But Belkin testified Wednesday that the teams and arena rights aren’t worth anything less than $500 million. This is why he objected to an appraisal in late 2005 that came in at $288.4 million.

http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/busine ... trial.html