Sacramento has sent a letter to Anaheim to cease their negotiations to bring the Kings down to Southern California. Following that news, Kevin Johnson’s press secretary Joaquin McPeek released a statement to local media earlier this evening.
The Mayor continues his laser focus on fighting for what’s best for Sacramento. First and foremost, that means doing everything we can to keep the Kings, and all the economic and community benefits they provide. But it also means taking basic precautionary measures to protect taxpayers in case the team does relocate. The Mayor fully expects the Maloofs to pay off.
This also comes in light of statements made by Mayor Johnson’s special assistant RE Graswich, who voiced some pretty negative thoughts about the Kings in a New York Times column over the weekend.
“Right now the mood is good riddance, although I’m not sure it has sunk in,” said R.E. Graswich, a top aide to Mayor Johnson and a former Sacramento Bee journalist who covered the Kings for seven years.
“We’ve grown up as a sports town,” Graswich said. “We’re not going to back any crummy product they put on the floor. We’ve got bigger problems —12.5 percent unemployment, people being laid off or furloughed, their homes in foreclosure. The Kings would be a nice distraction if they were any good, but they’re not.”
Though the chances of the Kings remaining in Sacramento appear bleak, the Mayor probably doesn’t want any negative sentiment toward the Maloofs coming from his camp. After all, Johnson has stated that should a deal fall through in Anaheim, the Kings and city of Sacramento would have to continue their 26-year old partnership.
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