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Traffic Sports Puts NASL RailHawks On The Block To Help Pay For FIFA Scandal Settlement

Traffic Sports USA, in an effort to "pay the outstanding balance" to the U.S. government as part of a settlement surrounding the FIFA bribery scandal, is "putting some of its holdings up for sale," including the NASL Carolina RailHawks, according to Rebecca Ruiz of the N.Y. TIMES. Miami-based Traffic Sports USA owns the club based in Cary, N.C., but its ties to NASL "are more enduring than the league will readily admit, and they go beyond a single team." Former Traffic Sports USA President Aaron Davidson, who is under house arrest in Miami, is "closely identified" with the club and the league. Davidson "steered the league" as BOD Chair until May when the scandal broke and "he was suspended." Traffic Sports USA is a majority Class B stakeholder in the club as defined by NASL bylaws, meaning it has "paid the most money among the investors in that group and that it collects the largest dividend payment," while also having "input on some decisions." Class A stakeholders are "team owners with voting rights, of which Traffic is one." RailHawks President Curt Johnson said that Traffic had "kept to this year's budget even after pleading guilty." He also said the company was "supportive and reliable" since it hired him, offering him "relative autonomy." Ruiz noted NASL has "procedures in place to deal with owners who fail to fulfill financial obligations, but by all accounts, Traffic's checks have kept coming (N.Y. TIMES, 8/29). Traffic Sports owned three NASL clubs as recently as January '14 (THE DAILY).

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