Just 10 months after the Buss family sold a majority stake of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, and just days after Walter agreed to sell that stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, five of the Buss siblings elected to sell their collective remaining 17.8% share of the team to Kushner and Iger.
Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' governor, is the one sibling who is opposed to that sale. She has now taken legal action in order to officially challenge her family members' attempts to fully give up ownership of the franchise, via The Athletic.
"Jeanie Buss has petitioned a Los Angeles Superior Court asking a judge to block her five siblings from selling the family’s remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, while accusing them of secretly orchestrating a deal
to try to remove her as the team’s governor," wrote Sam Amick and Melody Gutierrez. "The petition, which was processed by the court on Wednesday, is the strongest sign yet that this feud won’t be ending anytime soon."
Buss isn't exactly going easy on her siblings, either.
"Jeanie Buss, who was chosen by her late father and longtime Lakers owner, Jerry Buss, as his successor before he died in 2013, called her siblings’ behavior “devious” and said in the court filing that they should be held in contempt while also being held “liable for damages.” She also called for the removal of Joey and Janie Buss as co-trustees of a trust that holds the family’s remaining stake in the Lakers (17.8 percent), citing breach of fiduciary duty. NBA rules mandate that team governors own at least 15 percent of the team."
She is reportedly open to some type of scenario where she would have that minimum 15% ownership of the Lakers so that she can remain their governor.
There was originally an agreement in place between her and Walter to allow her to hold on to her title as governor for five more years. Her grip on that position, not to mention the Buss family's identity as being in charge of the Lakers, is now in real peril.
Dr. Jerry Buss originally purchased the Lakers in 1979 and presided over the franchise winning 10 NBA championships until his death. He had envisioned his family continuing to own the team for many decades, but as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Jeanie Buss taking action to stop siblings' sale of Lakers
