There is more going on between Jeanie Buss and her siblings regarding the Los Angeles Lakers than just a legal dispute. Through carefully timed leaks, conflicting statements, and lawyers writing letters to other lawyers, it’s a controlled demolition of trust. It resembles a PR war disguised as a disagreement over governance.
As is often the case with these things, the basic facts arrived quickly and in a disorganized manner. The Buss family had agreed to sell its remaining 17.8% of the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, whose $12.5 billion purchase of Mark Walter’s majority stake had already shocked the sports industry the week before, according to the first report from ESPN.
Then came the letter from Jeanie’s lawyer, Adam Streisand, which was obtained, published, and absorbed by CNBC and declared any such vote to be “void.” Within hours of one another, two stories—two versions of reality—were published.
It wasn’t a coincidental sequencing. When conflicting stories appear in the media so rapidly, information management is taking place. It was obvious that both sides had ready media contacts. The five siblings—Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, and Jesse—had previously released a joint statement via ESPN outlining their choice. Jeanie’s group took the legal letter to CNBC. The comprehensive timeline was released by The Athletic. Each outlet received a unique piece. When participants in a PR war are sophisticated enough to know which reporters cover which beats, it looks like this.
Despite the enormous implications, the legal argument at the heart of this is straightforward. According to Streisand’s letter, a 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order effectively required Jeanie, Janie, and Joey, the co-trustees, to keep at least 15% ownership in the team in order to maintain Jeanie’s position as controlling owner.
According to the trust’s own regulations, the five siblings who voted to sell claim they had a majority. According to Jeanie’s camp, the vote was never important. There are two courts, two readings, and one family that no longer communicates with one another outside of press releases.
It’s important to take a step back and consider what Jeanie Buss personally stands to lose. Since her father, Jerry Buss, passed away in 2013, she has served as the Lakers‘ governor. Appearing courtside, navigating the LeBron era, and enduring years of harsh scrutiny over roster choices and front office turmoil have all contributed to the development of her public persona. She would lose more than just a title if she lost the governorship. She would lose the platform that has shaped her public persona over the past ten years. Because of this background, it is easier to comprehend her resistance and more difficult to discount her silence outside of the legal system.
From the outside, it appears that the siblings saw the Iger-Kushner deal as a way out and seized it. Even for a 17.8% share, the valuation of $12.5 billion is real money. Additionally, Walter’s situation had become more complicated due to his federal tax investigation, which created an unnecessary layer of uncertainty. Selling felt tidy. Rational. However, it seems that Jeanie wasn’t consulted the way her siblings thought she should have been. This is where the phrase “breach of trust” originates, and because it comes from family rather than just legal doctrine, it has a greater impact.
How the NBA’s Board of Governors handles a deal this contentious is still unknown. League approval is still necessary. The board may wait for the legal issue to be resolved, or the pressure of a deal this size may compel a quicker resolution. Last week, Bob Iger told an outlet that he planned to uphold Jeanie’s governor’s agreement, but he also said, “If things change, they’ll change.” Since then, every story that has been written has had that qualifier at the back.
Family businesses rarely have a happy ending, especially if they were founded on legacies that are visible to the public. For forty-seven years, the Buss family has owned a piece of the Lakers. In 1979, Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the team. That chapter is already coming to an end, regardless of what transpires in court, the boardroom, or the media. How disorganized the final pages become is the only question.
