Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON testified during a deposition two months ago that his estranged daughter and grandchildren “tried to kill me.” Excerpts of the 88-year-old’s March 28 and March 29 depositions were made public Thursday in Louisiana federal court filings. Asked why he has moved to take future ownership of his two teams away from them, he replied, “They tried to kill me for one thing.” Asked what he meant by this, he said, “You know by picking on my wife and when I wasn’t feeling very good they were very hostile.” Benson recounts a previously reported incident at a December '14 Saints game in which his wife, GAYLE, was allegedly physically attacked by his heirs. However, in Benson’s retelling it is his daughter, RENEE, and not his granddaughter RITA LEBLANC, who attacked his wife in the suite that day. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported in February '15 it was Rita who had “shook” Gayle in a violent encounter. Benson in his testimony said, “They start picking on Gayle. And it got so bad, Renee shook her, and I said, 'That’s enough. Let’s go.' Gayle and I left the game.” During a deposition a day earlier, Benson added according to portions of the transcript filed, “They attacked me, you got to know. That’s why I don't want to leave them anything. Okay?” He also testified he felt they were scheming to take ownership of the teams away from him (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
MANIFEST DESTINY? In Ottawa, Ken Warren notes Senators Owner EUGENE MELNYK is "considering adding a pharmaceutical plant to his real estate holdings in Ottawa -- although much depends on the success of his early stage biotech or life science startups." Melnyk’s camp went on an exploratory tour of Ottawa recently, looking at "potential sites for a 200,000-square foot facility -- including, but not limited to, parcels of land in Kanata." It is unclear "when, or if, Melnyk would be in a position to justify such an expansion." Much would depend on "gaining regulatory approval for his products -- a process that often takes years" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 5/20).
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Thursday morning’s edition of NBC’s “Today” aired a segment called “Family Business” which profiled Cowboys Owner JERRY JONES and his daughter, Cowboys Exec VP & Chief Brand Officer CHARLOTTE JONES ANDERSON, with NBC’s Jenna Bush Hager noting Anderson has helped her father "build the most lucrative team in the NFL.” Hager called Anderson the “most powerful female in the NFL.” Anderson: “It's inspiring to hear that, but all I really want to do is make my parents proud” ("Today," NBC, 5/19).
