Schultz Officially Files Lawsuit Against Bennett

The playoffs are on, and they rule. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, the Sonics situation just gets more and more batty, gross, and unhappy. The relocation vote put the league's stamp of approval on the move, like those emails never happened. But there's still hope for Seattle—sort of—that's going to drag this out in a way that would make Senator Clinton proud.



The newest twist: Howard Schultz, who sold the Sonics to the Bennett group, is suing to get them back. Based on those infamous emails, he's now saying that the contract was violated, since the Okies never intended to try and keep the team in town. From The Tacoma News Tribune:

The 13-page suit contends that when Bennett's group purchased the Sonics in July 2006, a stipulation included in the sales agreement and the side letter states: "For a period of one to 12 months after the closing date, buyer shall use good faith best efforts to negotiate an arena lease, purchase, use or similar arrangement (in the greater Seattle area)."

However, Schultz claims in the suit that Bennett's group never intended to keep the team in Seattle, and cites internal e-mails revealed in litigation between the city of Seattle and the new ownership group as evidence of the intentions of Bennett and his partners.

Of course, that's only one of several court battles about to jump off, which both strengthens Seattle's chances and makes them appear that much more desperate and unconvinced of their options. Stern has also begun to hint that, if the city walks away quietly, they could get a new team in the very near future—something he swore wouldn't happen just weeks ago.

The really depressing part is that, as corrupt, crooked and dishonest as the whole deal has been, it's still business, and likely none of this will matter. Those noble feelings we entertain as sports fans just don't apply to that realm of human activity.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.