Wilmington, DE – Major League Baseball says the cash-strapped owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers should sell the storied franchise to provide the easiest way out of bankruptcy.
In a motion filed Friday in Delaware, MLB argued that a sale of the Dodgers would provide a clear path to settling the team's considerable financial woes.
The motion also argued that owner Frank McCourt acted in his own interests, and against the interests of the league and his team, by using the Dodgers' bankruptcy case to cure his own personal financial problems.
McCourt's previous attempt to sell the team's broadcast rights to Fox Sports was rejected by MLB, and the owner is now looking to sell to the highest bidder without league approval, the motion argues.
The league argued that McCourt's timing is motivated by an unrealistic hope of generating enough proceeds to help meet his personal financial liabilities.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June, purportedly to make payroll. A hearing on the current motion is set for October 12.
MLB said the league would be undermined if one of its owners was allowed to operate outside of the rules and regulations applied to all teams. It called the Dodgers an "integral" part of the league that operates, along with all the other teams, as an interdependent enterprise.
But it argues that McCourt and other owners have agreed to run their teams in a manner that it in the best interests of the league.
It said selling the Dodgers to new owners would provide, among other things, a quick emergence from bankruptcy and the financial stability to prepare the team for next season and beyond.
McCourt has long been involved in legal proceedings surrounding the fate of the Dodgers, including a divorce from his wife and a battle over which of the two should retain control of its operation.
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