Two former executives with the now-defunct Continental
Basketball Association's La Crosse, Wis., Bobcats are threatening
to sue Indiana Pacers coach Isiah Thomas, the league's last owner.
The men claim Thomas owes their franchise more than $300,000 and
owes various league operators, fans and sponsors a total of more
than $1 million, much of it in unfulfilled corporate sponsorships.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars this franchise is owed, plus
more in operating expenses. Where is it? I know this: We don't have
it," said Ken Koeller, former assistant general manager of the
Bobcats.
He said a number of angry former CBA operatives are also
considering legal action against Thomas.
Bill Bosshard, a La Crosse banker and one-time owner of the
Bobcats, said no lawsuit was filed Tuesday, but he said Thomas'
attorney in Detroit, Tom Lewand, rejected a verbal offer to settle
the financial claim for the La Crosse team as a way to keep the
team going this season.
"We are just kind of reeling, trying to figure out which way to
go," said Bosshard, calling himself one of Thomas' creditors. "It
is a bad, bad deal in this town. I assume he has got money, but he
is pleading poverty to us."
Lewand did not return a telephone message to The Associated
Press left at his office late Tuesday afternoon.
Thomas, who purchased the league October 1999, told The
Indianapolis Star Monday that he could not comment on the matter.
"You'll have to talk to the NBA and (commissioner) David Stern
about that," he said. "I'm not allowed to comment."
When he was hired by the Pacers, Thomas was told by the NBA to
divest himself of his CBA interests by Oct. 1, 2000, because the
league feared a conflict of interest that might see Thomas funnel
CBA players to his team.
Thomas failed to sell the CBA by Oct. 1, but the league agreed
to an extension as long as he put the CBA into a blind trust,
meaning he could not have any dealings with the CBA as lawyers
tried to find a buyer.
But last week, the struggling CBA was forced to cease operations
after 55 years due to financial woes that reportedly included at
least $1.5 million in debt.
Three teams -- the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Skyforce, Gary (Ind.)
Steelheads and Rockford (Ill.) Lightning -- joined the International
Basketball League. The other seven teams have either disbanded or
are considering other "minor" basketball leagues.
Bosshard holds Thomas responsible for the league's demise.
"He convinced all the (CBA) owners of his vision. Then he
realized he couldn't turn over the profit he envisioned, he
couldn't get the corporate sponsors, his business plan was faulty,
everything was going bankrupt, so he figured, 'I better grab a
coaching job' and he abandoned us."
Thomas' defenders point to the fact that with the league in a
blind trust, he has no current control over the business of the
CBA, and in fact, may have extended the league's life another
season with his purchase.
But Bosshard, Koeller and other CBA operators wonder why Thomas
wasn't able to reach a deal to sell the CBA. The NBA reportedly
offered Thomas a deal that would have left him with at least a $1
million profit.
Later, the NBA players' union was rumored to be a player in the
CBA sweepstakes. However, no suitable buyer was found.
For a time, the CBA was viewed as a hot commodity. Both the NBA
and its players union wanted control of the league as leverage in
the next round of collective-bargaining-agreement talks in either
2004 or 2005.
According to longtime league observers, the NBA wanted to get
the league so it could shut the door on striking, or locked out,
players.
When Thomas balked at the price, the NBA announced the formation
of its own developmental league, which begins operation next
season.
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