Family drama is swirling around the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner and CEO of the storied basketball organization, is opposing the sale of the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the team to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, according to her attorney Adam Streisand.
Last week, Iger and Kushner bought a majority stake in the club from Mark Walter for a record-breaking $12.5 billion.
“On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake,” read the letter, which was viewed by CNN. The letter was in response to an ESPN report.
Streisand said that “ESPN falsely reported” the sale and that “this is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious ‘information.’” ESPN reported that at least five out of six of the Buss siblings agreed to sell.
If the minority sale were to go through, Jeanie Buss would no longer be governor, the official title for an NBA team’s controlling owner. She has been governor of the Lakers since 2013, and the Buss trust includes her siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse.
“If (Jeanie Buss’ siblings) try and push this, I will go to court to seek to hold them in contempt and to issue injunctions,” Streisand told CNN.
CNN has reached out to Thrive Capital, Kushner’s firm, for comment.
Due to a court order in 2017, Jeanie Buss remains the controlling owner and the family’s sale of the stake cannot happen without her permission, Streisand said in the letter.
“Any ‘vote’ by any of the Buss siblings (on the sale to Iger and Kushner) would be and is void” from the beginning, Streisand said.
Meanwhile, in a statement to ESPN, the Buss family said it had sold the shares.
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can,” the statement said.
The majority sale to Iger and Kushner still needs the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors to be completed. If approved, a source told CNN that Kushner — who is the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump — would be the controlling owner and Iger would be deeply involved in a leadership capacity.
The Lakers, who have won 17 championships, are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. They most recently won the title in the 2019-20 season.
CNN’s Matt Egan and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
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