Jeanie Buss's attorney accused Shams Charania of inaccurate reporting regarding another sale of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Buss family voted to sell its remaining 17.8% share of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, who became new majority owners when they purchased the team from Mark Walter. Charania initially reported that all six Buss siblings voted to sell, but Jeanie Buss is contesting the move.
Her attorney, Adam F. Streisand, released a statement first shared by CNBC's Alex Sherman on Monday. Streisand directly mentioned Charania before claiming that no sale is legitimate without Jeanie's approval as one of three trustees alongside brothers Joey and Jesse Buss.
"As you know, this afternoon, Shams Charania of ESPN falsely reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell the 17.8% ownership stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, and that my client, Jeanie Buss, is 'out' as controlling owner," the statement said. "This is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious 'information' to Mr. Charania for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss's chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father's wishes."
"The story evolved as we continued reporting"
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Charania's story published Monday afternoon now reads, "At least five of the six siblings voted to sell." However, ESPN has not issued a formal correction about the original claim that Jeanie Buss made it unanimous.
ESPN's Ramona Shelbourne later said that Jeanie "did not respond to the family vote." An ESPN spokesperson addressed the situation to Semafor Max Tani.
"The story evolved as we continued reporting, and we didn't believe a correction was warranted," the spokesperson said.
NBA rules require a team governor to own at least 15% of the team. When the Buss family sold their majority stake to Walter last year, a provision allowed Jeanie to remain a governor through 2030.
As a result, Streisand argued that all trustees are "bound to vote" to ensure that Jeanie Buss stays a controlling governor of the Lakers.
"Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court," Streisand claimed. "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."
