Isles co-Owner Howard Milstein, who unsuccessfully bid
$800M for the Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, filed a
federal lawsuit against team President John Kent Cooke and
GM Charley Casserly "maintaining that the two unfairly
conspired with allies in the [NFL] to short-circuit" his
attempt to buy the team, according to Miller & Clarke of the
WASHINGTON POST. In his suit, Milstein is seeking tens of
millions of dollars in damages, but is not trying to "thwart
plans to sell the team" to former partner Daniel Snyder.
The suit has "been in the works" for several weeks, but
until now, it wasn't clear "who would emerge as Milstein's
targets." Milstein, in a statement released by Washington
Sports Ventures, said Cooke and Casserly's "refusal to even
discuss an amicable resolution, leaves us with no other
recourse." Cooke: "I will gladly defend myself against
these petulant charges which have no merit whatsoever." The
suit claims that Cooke "was obsessed with engineering a
`sweetheart deal' to buy the team and undermined Milstein"
when he outbid him. It also maintains that Casserly helped
"by spreading misleading information about Milstein out of
loyalty to Cooke." Snyder is not a party to the suit and no
NFL owners are mentioned. NFL execs have yet to see the
lawsuit and declined to comment (WASHINGTON POST, 5/18).
