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NFT: Did Manfred blow up the Cohen deal ?

capone : 2/13/2020 7:15 pm
The inside trading details were just too much and a bad precedent to turn a blind eye to criminal activity just because one of his minions took the rap.

This is what I heard from a very good source in a position to know. Why not just come out and say it ? Fear of litigation but would have expected The Wilpons would have leaked it given how they are getting trashed.
Thank you  
SJGiant : 2/13/2020 8:04 pm : link
For providing this information. What your source says makes sense.
LOL  
PhiPsi125 : 2/13/2020 9:20 pm : link
Why do MLB commissioners continue to go out of their way to keep the crooked Wilpons in place? Cohen’s history is too much for Manfred to handle but the Wilpons involvement in the Madoff scandal is perfectly fine (I don’t believe for one second the Wilpons didn’t know)? They are arguably one of the worst owners in all of sports.

The Wilpons are like cockroaches...they will never go away.
Cohen Owns 8% Now  
Samiam : 2/13/2020 10:02 pm : link
That’s not an insignificant amount right now. If they didnt want Cohen, he would not have been allowed in in the first place. I dont know what happened with the sale but the Wilpons dont get the benefit of the doubt in any questionable transaction. And neither does this “source”. Theres nothing about Cohen’s legal issues that hasnt been known for a long time
Cohen bought his minority share in Feb '12 when Bud was still commish  
Eric on Li : 2/13/2020 10:30 pm : link
and prior to getting implicated in Nov '12.
There is a far different standard  
capone : 2/13/2020 11:21 pm : link
For minority ownership versus control
Interesting - it was definitely unusual, IMO  
mfsd : 2/14/2020 4:55 am : link
the way Manfred jumped to the Wilpon’s defense so publicly.
George Steinbrenner ...  
KDavies : 2/14/2020 9:36 am : link
was a convicted felon, and he was an excellent owner. Obstruction of justice, as well as illegal campaign contributions to Nixon. Cohen is not a convicted felon.

I don't buy it
Cohen had to know it was a possibility from the outset  
bigbluehoya : 2/14/2020 9:50 am : link
and that's exactly why there was an strict gag order in the agreements.
RE: George Steinbrenner ...  
bigbluehoya : 2/14/2020 9:55 am : link
In comment 14811038 KDavies said:
Quote:
was a convicted felon, and he was an excellent owner. Obstruction of justice, as well as illegal campaign contributions to Nixon. Cohen is not a convicted felon.

I don't buy it


almost 50 years apart, different commish, different social climate.

it's an interesting thing to note, but it's hardly relevant to the decision at hand in terms of precedent. If anything, replaying the Steinbrenner situation in the current climate would make it seem completely unpalatable.
Thanks for posting this capone,  
Section331 : 2/14/2020 10:15 am : link
it definitely makes sense. MLB gave Cohen the option to back out gracefully rather than tarnish him with a bid rejection. We'll see if he tries to buy another club, if so, that would indicate the initial stories were more accurate.
Seems really unlikely and weird...  
Metnut : 2/14/2020 10:20 am : link
but OP is best baseball source on BBI so hard to dispute.
RE: RE: George Steinbrenner ...  
KDavies : 2/14/2020 10:23 am : link
In comment 14811061 bigbluehoya said:
Quote:
In comment 14811038 KDavies said:


Quote:


was a convicted felon, and he was an excellent owner. Obstruction of justice, as well as illegal campaign contributions to Nixon. Cohen is not a convicted felon.

I don't buy it



almost 50 years apart, different commish, different social climate.

it's an interesting thing to note, but it's hardly relevant to the decision at hand in terms of precedent. If anything, replaying the Steinbrenner situation in the current climate would make it seem completely unpalatable.


Sure it is relevant. Every owner has not been a boy scout in the past, and that should not be a requirement for owning a team. It would be a gross abuse of power by Manfred to deny him on this basis. Fine, if he was convicted for something, but damn. The league is littered with cheaters, abusers, steroid users, etc., and we are going to draw the moral line at insider trading with no convictions?
RE: RE: RE: George Steinbrenner ...  
bigbluehoya : 2/14/2020 10:33 am : link
In comment 14811093 KDavies said:
Quote:
In comment 14811061 bigbluehoya said:


Quote:


In comment 14811038 KDavies said:


Quote:


was a convicted felon, and he was an excellent owner. Obstruction of justice, as well as illegal campaign contributions to Nixon. Cohen is not a convicted felon.

I don't buy it



almost 50 years apart, different commish, different social climate.

it's an interesting thing to note, but it's hardly relevant to the decision at hand in terms of precedent. If anything, replaying the Steinbrenner situation in the current climate would make it seem completely unpalatable.



Sure it is relevant. Every owner has not been a boy scout in the past, and that should not be a requirement for owning a team. It would be a gross abuse of power by Manfred to deny him on this basis. Fine, if he was convicted for something, but damn. The league is littered with cheaters, abusers, steroid users, etc., and we are going to draw the moral line at insider trading with no convictions?


Sure, one could easily spin a yarn about why it's fine to let Cohen into the club, and your non-conviction point is probably the headliner of that argument. I'm just saying that "what about George Steinbrenner 50 years ago?" isn't one to hang your hat on if you're in Manfred's shoes.

It doesn't matter much to me. I'm hardly a Puritan about this stuff. If I were Mets fan, knowing how well documented it is that Cohen is a bad actor in spite of the noted absence of a conviction, my preferences would probably be:

1) sale to someone other than Cohen
2) sale to Cohen
3) no sale
I actually kind of buy this theory Capone but watch Cohen buy HOU  
Eric on Li : 2/14/2020 10:35 am : link
out of spite for like $5bn - "That's my kind of team".
Balzac nailed it  
Alan in Toledo : 2/14/2020 10:36 am : link
that behind every great fortune there is a crime/lies a great crime.

RE: RE: RE: RE: George Steinbrenner ...  
KDavies : 2/14/2020 10:46 am : link
In comment 14811105 bigbluehoya said:
Quote:
In comment 14811093 KDavies said:


Quote:


In comment 14811061 bigbluehoya said:


Quote:


In comment 14811038 KDavies said:


Quote:


was a convicted felon, and he was an excellent owner. Obstruction of justice, as well as illegal campaign contributions to Nixon. Cohen is not a convicted felon.

I don't buy it



almost 50 years apart, different commish, different social climate.

it's an interesting thing to note, but it's hardly relevant to the decision at hand in terms of precedent. If anything, replaying the Steinbrenner situation in the current climate would make it seem completely unpalatable.



Sure it is relevant. Every owner has not been a boy scout in the past, and that should not be a requirement for owning a team. It would be a gross abuse of power by Manfred to deny him on this basis. Fine, if he was convicted for something, but damn. The league is littered with cheaters, abusers, steroid users, etc., and we are going to draw the moral line at insider trading with no convictions?



Sure, one could easily spin a yarn about why it's fine to let Cohen into the club, and your non-conviction point is probably the headliner of that argument. I'm just saying that "what about George Steinbrenner 50 years ago?" isn't one to hang your hat on if you're in Manfred's shoes.

It doesn't matter much to me. I'm hardly a Puritan about this stuff. If I were Mets fan, knowing how well documented it is that Cohen is a bad actor in spite of the noted absence of a conviction, my preferences would probably be:

1) sale to someone other than Cohen
2) sale to Cohen
3) no sale


As a Mets fan, I completely agree with the order of preference with little gap between 1 and 2, and a gigantic gap between 2 and 3.

Reality is that with sale prices in the billions, there is a very limited market and I don't get the morality police in preventing owners from owning a team, unless it is something like a serious criminal conviction, or something similar to a Donald Sterling. I don't think unconvicted insider trading rises nearly to that level.

Agreed that I am not a Puritan on this stuff. Bezos wants to buy a team? Let him. I don't need to get into his personal life, or the pain his business practices have caused to many. Etc. Could do this with any number of billionaires. Cohen was not a particularly controversial figure outside very narrow circles, and again, if true, this is a gross abuse of power by Manfred, who I have generally otherwise been pretty pleased with.
Not siding with Cohen  
JoeyBigBlue : 2/14/2020 11:01 am : link
But I’ve never seen a situation where someone buys something and then takes control of that asset, 5 years later. That type of transaction just doesn’t make sense to me.
I believe there’s a particular committee that this has to get thru  
capone : 2/14/2020 12:37 pm : link
So it’s not a unilateral decision by Manfred… I will confirm that…
Admittedly I haven't followed this whole situation all that closely  
jcn56 : 2/14/2020 12:51 pm : link
but wasn't Cohen's interest reported months in advance of this rejection? In that timeframe, he wasn't charged with anything new that I'm aware of, so why would it take MLB this long to decide that Cohen's background was too dicey for them to proceed?

It would suggest that they either have an extremely long vetting process or that they became aware of something new that isn't/wasn't public knowledge.
RE: I believe there’s a particular committee that this has to get thru  
KDavies : 2/14/2020 1:38 pm : link
In comment 14811203 capone said:
Quote:
So it’s not a unilateral decision by Manfred… I will confirm that…


Group of owners I would assume..
RE: Admittedly I haven't followed this whole situation all that closely  
capone : 2/14/2020 1:49 pm : link
In comment 14811215 jcn56 said:
Quote:
but wasn't Cohen's interest reported months in advance of this rejection? In that timeframe, he wasn't charged with anything new that I'm aware of, so why would it take MLB this long to decide that Cohen's background was too dicey for them to proceed?

It would suggest that they either have an extremely long vetting process or that they became aware of something new that isn't/wasn't public knowledge.


because the Mets did not ask for pre-approval? They had to now it would be addressed ...Maybe they thought there was more leverage to get the deal done by announcing it first?
cohen inside trading  
capone : 2/14/2020 1:55 pm : link
for your own opinoin
Link - ( New Window )
it reads like  
capone : 2/14/2020 2:13 pm : link
a scene with Bobby Axelrod and Dollar Bill taking the rap
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