Los Angeles Dodgers President Stan Kasten answered questions about the team’s future amid the discourse around owner Mark Walter.
Walter is amid a scandal that has drawn attention from the sporting and financial world.
He is allegedly under federal investigation for fraud related to loans made by life-insurance companies he owns.
As a result, reports say he is being forced to raise billions to pay off the loans and avoid consequences.
Chatter about the future of the Dodgers started after Walter sold the Lakers, just months after he bought the historic NBA team for $10 billion.
Now, he has reached an agreement to sell it for $12.5 billion, and reports say he could sell his stake in Chelsea FC, further fueling speculation that he may eventually do the same with the Dodgers if his financial troubles are indeed serious.
Much of the discourse comes from speculation and connecting multiple separate stories. The investigation has not revealed anything yet.
What Stan Kasten had to say
With all of the questions, Kasten, who owns part of the Dodgers, stepped on the field to take questions. He came out firing with a bold claim.
“I wanted to make sure everyone understood one thing very clearly: The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten told reporters before Friday night’s game.
“They’re not gonna be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell it, period. We are planning only to win. That is what we are always doing. And we are still continuing to do that.”
Kasten called a lot of the theories and speculation “silly.”
“Sometimes it’s gotten silly, OK? It’s gotten silly,” Kasten said. “That’s when I think we should probably be saying more, but we have to observe the process.”
He stated that the reports have been “mischaracterized.” In his strongest statement of the press conference, he echoed Walter’s message.
“I can tell you from the guy running the team, knowing how the business runs and what it can support in terms of revenues and expenses — the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere,” Kasten said. “I feel that very strongly, and Mark feels even stronger than I do.
“It’s important to Mark. I can’t tell you how important the Dodgers are to Mark.”
