Things aren't looking bright for Jayson Williams

[AlbanyFirelaxer]

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0501/1376497.html

Interesting article on ESPN.com

From the looks of it, I'd say Jayson is pretty close to done... Maybe unless he calls up Johnny Cochrane....

Where will the Storm go next?

[Canadan]

Maybe Williams might have to sell the Storm to fund his defense. It's gonna cost him a fortune to stay out of prison. This trial might even follow the OJ scenario: he gets an acquittal, then loses his shirt in a civil trial. WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING AT THE TIME?:confused: :confused:

[Drynagolt]

Williams should sell this team to Winnipeg. It isn't a good idea for him to be owning a NLL team. Plus, Winnipeg could even keep the same team name. They have some crazy weather there. :)

[Canadan]

Friendly Manitoba would support the Storm more than NJ would. That's obvious. Once again, the league shoots itself in the foot, going where they've failed before. The league should divest themselves of Mr. Williams, even if he's found not guilty. This is bad publicity for an entity that is already struggling for credibility.

[raphilly]

The NLL would only try to remove Jayson Williams if he is convicted. That comes straight from the head office.

Even then, it would be very difficult to actually do -- the only entity that can force someone to divest oneself of an asset is the government, and that would be to pay off criminal fines (tax evasion penalties, etc... not an issue in a manslaughter trial) or civil damages (if Christofi's family can get a huge wrongful death judgment against JW). The best NLL can do with Jayson Williams in the case of a conviction is to strip him of day-to-day control of the team for a period of time (similar to what baseball has done in recent years to Marge Schott and George Steinbrenner) or persuade him to sell the team.

In the meantime, Jayson Williams has the support of the NLL (and rightly so) and fully intends to field a team in East Rutherford next season.

R.A.

[Canadan]

Very well put raphilly. He still has his day in court, and I was just thinking that the NLL might have had a code of conduct for the owners. Then again, look at Brad Watters. He hasn't broken any laws and nothing has been done about his behaviour. But then again, with the Williams situation and Watters rants, one would think this is the time to have in any franchise application a binding agreement to abide by the laws of Canada and the U.S. and to conduct oneself in a dignified and businesslike manner.