Kings owner threatens to sue NBL
By JESSICA O'HALLORAN - SMH | Friday, 13 June 2008
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4582678a12155.html
At 20 years of age, the Sydney Kings are dead. But even before the mourning had begun in earnest, the bitterness over their demise continued as a Firepower official fired off a letter threatening legal action against the NBL.
On Wednesday - just 42 minutes after the 5pm deadline for the players to be paid had expired - Kings general manager Darren Darroch indicated in an email to NBL chief executive Chuck Harmison that Tim Johnston's shelf company Dasolina, owner of the Sydney Kings, may sue the league for terminating the club's licence.
It was another twist in the bitter saga that saw the franchise yesterday stripped of its licence and liquidators appointed.
Kings players yesterday lashed out at controversial Firepower chief Johnston for bringing the once-proud club to its knees.
The foundation club, which won three successive NBL premierships between 2003 and 2005, has debts of about $1.5 million and is extremely unlikely to take part in the 2008-09 season.
Senior Kings player Russell Hinder, who now faces being out of work, slammed Johnston for his part in the Kings' downfall.
"He's a bad man," Hinder said. "He's unethical. I hope Paul Briggs [the boxer also sponsored by Johnstone] catches up with him in a dark alley. I'm not going to let that p---k pull down what I've created. There's no way I'm going to let small men like Tim Johnston and Darren Darroch ruin my life. With any luck, he'll get emphysema."
News of the iconic NBL club's demise saddened former players and triple championship-winning coach Brian Goorjian.
Kings legend Shane Heal, who captained the club to their first championship and played for them for five years, said it was a sorry day.
"I've got such good memories of being at the Kings," Heal said. "I remember playing my last game in front of a full house to win the championship. To see it like this, just five years later, is really sad."
Steve Carfino, a foundation member of the Kings in 1988, was also in mourning.
"To see the Kings crumble little by little over the last few years is quite disappointing," Carfino said. "It's sad news."
Carfino believes the NBL needs to shut down for a number of months and formulate a new business model based on football's A-League.
Without the Kings, the NBL faces losing its $800,000 naming-rights sponsor Hummer and its $800,000 pay-TV deal with Fox Sports, putting the future of the whole competition in jeopardy.
"I believe the league needs a major overhaul," Carfino said. "There needs to be major changes. There are thousands of kids playing the game - but this is not reflected at the top level. It's sad to see that many playing the game and then at the top level a team that won three straight championships only attract 2000 to 3000 to a play-off game."
Goorjian said at least his former players could go now move forward without Johnston in charge. "Personally, today I'm kind of relieved. I hope everyone at the Kings is relieved," Goorjian said. "When I was there it was always in the back of my mind - 'Are we going to be OK? Will we exist?' Everyone at the Kings has been in limbo … now they can move forward.
"My hope is the Sydney Kings will resurface with proper ownership and structure. Today is a good day for the NBL and the Sydney Kings."
Former Kings captain Jason Smith said the players desperately hoped the club would be resurrected by a new owner before the June 30 deadline.
"We are in a really vulnerable state because of Tim Johnston," he said. "We still hope there is some minor chance that someone will come on board. Hopefully, we'll attract a good offer from someone out there."
However, Harmison was not optimistic a new owner for the Kings would be endorsed by the league by June 30.
Smith, who is likely to take up a contract with the South Dragons, said he never anticipated the Kings would dissolve into financial chaos.
"If you had asked me three months ago, [when] we were coming off a championship run and had great success on the court, I would have never in my wildest dreams thought it would come to this," Smith said.
The NBL is confident it will avoid legal repercussions from stripping Johnston of the licence.
"Whilst we can't speculate on whether they might mount a legal challenge to the termination, the league acted strictly within accordance of our rules as laid out in the Participants Agreement and were comfortable, based on the advice of our legal team, that any challenge would be futile on their part," an NBL spokesman wrote in an email to the Sydney Morning Herald.
With the Kings set to disappear from the league next season, Harmison was hopeful a new owner would be able to save the Brisbane Bullets.
I like the Kings, and this is really disappointing, but it also shows you, don't f*** up your finances!
