The lawyer for Saints and Pelicans Owner Tom Benson's daughter and grandchildren sent an unsolicited letter to media members last night arguing that Benson is being manipulated and his moves to strip his heirs of ownership of the teams are irrational. Last week, Benson surprisingly announced his daughter Renee Benson, and grandchildren Rita Benson LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc, would no longer be in line to own the teams, but instead his wife, Gayle, would. Gayle is his third wife. The daughter and grandchildren then filed a lawsuit in local court seeking to have Benson, 87, declared incompetent. And the lawsuit accused Gayle of essentially orchestrating a coup. Attorney Randall Smith, the counsel of record on the lawsuit, wrote last night, "[The] evidence suggests that Tom Benson, in a weakened mental and physical state, was unduly influenced to suddenly sever all relations with his daughter and grandchildren. Tom Benson has been manipulated. We are confident that once all of the evidence has been brought to light that it will be clear that this attempted coup is not in the interest of Tom Benson, who is as much of a victim as his daughter and grandchildren." Legally, the issue is whether he can orchestrate the shift. The teams are held in a trust for his heirs' benefit, and to move them out requires putting assets of equal value in. That has not occurred, according to the lawsuit. Benson also has to be recognized as competent by the court (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
WHEN LOVE & HATE COLLIDE: In New Orleans, Jeff Duncan noted the strained relationship between Gayle Benson and Rita Benson LeBlanc "was a revelation to the public and many of the teams' fans," who were unaware that there was "a reason the two were always on opposite sides of Tom in those sideline photo-ops." Duncan: "It wasn't just to gender-balance the portraits. The two women can't stand each other." Everyone at Saints HQ "was aware of the internal discord," as was the local media. Sources said that the relationship "devolved gradually" over the course of Tom and Gayle's marriage and "bottomed out in the past year" as his health declined. The relationship between Gayle and Rita "began to fray" in '05 after Hurricane Katrina, when Rita "assumed a larger role in the Saints organization and emerged as the face of the franchise." As Rita's profile "grew over the years, Gayle's relationship with Tom strengthened and, accordingly, her influence widened" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 1/25).
APPLE OF DISCORD: In Baton Rouge, Ramon Antonio Vargas cites sources as saying that Rita was "once the apple of Tom Benson’s eye and the heir apparent to his sports franchises," but she "gave her grandfather plenty of reasons to worry about her ability to take over his empire upon his passing." She "dragged out projects many felt shouldn’t take that long, and at times she appeared to be less than fully engaged in crucial meetings." Furthermore, it "disturbed members of the organizations at all levels that she had a habit of berating the dozens of executive assistants she burned through for things that were outside their control" (
Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 1/26). In New Orleans, Larry Holder reported members of the Saints organization, "at all levels, have already begun to take a side, publicly and privately, and it's been overwhelmingly in favor of Gayle" (
New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 1/24).
FAMILY FORTUNES: In Baton Rouge, Ted Lewis writes the public has already in the past few days "heard more about irrevocable family trusts and succession plans than we ever thought about -- or wanted to know about." Lewis: "Yes, this is a family feud. But it’s no game show. These are real people involved ... But they’re also real people who undoubtedly are feeling both deeply heartbroken about what has happened and embarrassed that it is playing out this way, no matter what kind of public face they’re trying to put on" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 1/26).
